


And They Were Flatmates...

by Halfofwhatyouare



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: F/F, Flatmate AU, Sharing a Bed, finding a home in another person basically..., trixie's POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:47:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24623452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halfofwhatyouare/pseuds/Halfofwhatyouare
Summary: It was Saturday night and the roof of her bedroom had caved in....“Let’s organise all this and see what’ll fit in my room and I’ll order food so it’ll get here by the time we’re done.” Katya suggested and Trixie blankly agreed, going along with whatever Katya determined - she was too muddled to think clearly but she was grateful she had Katya. Katya was certainly not a practical person (quite the opposite) but she never failed, in times of trouble, to step up and take care of her.
Relationships: Trixie Mattel/Katya Zamolodchikova
Comments: 94
Kudos: 163





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Having to share a bed has always been one of my favourite fic tropes and so it's about time that I wrote a story all about it. I'm very proud of this one and I feel like it's partly an ode to my former life in London, partly an ode to my current one.
> 
> These past couple weeks have been...well, there are no words really. I want to make it absolutely clear that BLACK LIVES MATTER, that I stand with you and always will. I don't want me posting to appear as if 'oh everything's going back to normal now' because - no. That is not what this is. However, I hope whoever reads my work can find some solace and enjoyment out of it.
> 
> https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

It was Saturday night and the roof of her bedroom had caved in. 

She’d noticed it the day before. The cracks that had decorated her ceiling like spider webs seemed more pronounced and starker against the white paint which had been crumbling, only slightly, so that sometimes her standard, laminate wood floor was speckled with dried flakes. She hadn’t paid too much attention to it all. The flat wasn’t a new build and she wasn’t in the financial position to be choosy so, in her opinion, it came par for the course, a little roughness around the edges, a little imperfection in the corners, dotted here and there around the place. Literally.

As it had been a rare, hot summer’s day, she and Katya had spent the afternoon soaking up some rays on top of Parliament Hill. It had, predictably, been packed. They had found a spot facing away from the infamous London skyline and Katya had jogged over to claim the space as theirs, placing a tartan picnic blanket down on the patchy grass and starfishing out on top of it as she waited for Trixie to catch up. They had gone to the Sainsbury’s near their flat for sandwiches and crisps and fruit and fizzy drinks and Trixie had drawn the metaphorical short straw, having been lumbered with carrying it all. Katya had paid, in fairness, but it had been such a relief to sit down and rub her shoulder where her heavy, rainbow tote bag had dug in, and even better to finally tuck in to the treats themselves.

They had stayed there for hours. Trixie had put a thick layer of suncream on but Katya had refused, wanting to get a tan. When Trixie had argued that she was as pale as a corpse and would burn, Katya had waved her off and Trixie let it go until she caught a glimpse of the first tinges of pink on the back of her neck. Then, she had manhandled Katya to sit still as she rubbed her factor thirty all over her exposed, this-close-to-burning skin. 

“Mother, I’m being looked after again.” Katya had said in that creepy voice she put on, which never failed to make Trixie laugh.

When the sun finally went down, it was quarter past nine and Trixie was starving. It was Trixie’s turn to cook them dinner (like every night apart from Friday, when Katya ordered them a takeaway or took Trixie out, depending on their collective mood) so she left Katya in the lounge fiddling around on Instagram to go and dump her things in her room before assessing the state of their fridge. 

Their flat was a rented two bedroom on the top floor of a four storey building, right on a main road, which wasn’t always ideal, but was in a really lovely area and was a good price considering it was situated in zone two. So to say having her ceiling partly collapse all over her bed, floor and dresser was unexpected, was a complete understatement.

“What the fuck?” She exclaimed and Katya came running to her instantly.

“What’s— oh _shit_.” Katya’s front pressed up against Trixie’s back and the comfort of her presence eased her shock as she leant into her, turning her head to see Katya’s eyes wide, the surprise written across her features familiar but nonetheless arresting, only making the funny drop in Trixie’s stomach worse.

“At least it’s not raining as well.” Trixie sighed, peering up at the hole, through which she could see the darkening night sky, starless and vast, lightyears beyond her right then. 

Katya came to grip and rub at Trixie’s bicep. “I’ll go call Michelle.”

Trixie nodded. Before Katya stepped away, she took her hand and pulled so Katya’s arm wrapped around her stomach. She held her close. “Take pictures first and send them to her on WhatsApp.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Katya’s black phone case and hear the gentle thud of her thumb against her screen as she captured the sheer mess. Then, she was gone, her footsteps loud and ungraceful against their hallway floor as she made her way to the kitchen. 

“ _Fuck_.” Trixie cursed in despair. 

Her room wasn’t at all like her dream abode. Because the flat was rented, neither of them could change any of the fixtures, the paintwork or the furniture, though Trixie had done her very best to spruce up the bland decor. She had hung up several strings of fairy lights and had framed photos of her and Katya and her and some of her other friends on top of her chest of drawers and desk. She had switched out the awful grey lightshade to a cool pendant lamp from Ikea, its geometric white petals adjustable so she could change the shape whenever the mood took her. Her bedding was baby pink and she had arranged lots of pillows artfully on top. She had also positioned several potted plants by her window. 

Most of her efforts were now futile.

Surveying the detritus, she jumpstarted into action. Her wardrobe was against the same wall as the door to her room so it had thankfully escaped any of the fallout. She grabbed as many clothes as she could hold in one go and took them into the lounge, dumping them on the sofa opposite where Katya was pacing. Trixie glanced at her and Katya motioned to reassure her, to let her know everything was ok. Trixie made a few more similar journeys, taking as much as she could out of her room and narrowly avoiding all the fallen plaster. It was tricky getting to her dresser where she kept her underwear but she persisted, the thought of not having her cute, matching sets in the next coming days enough to spur her on. 

Once she had got out everything she could, she milled about until Katya hung up the phone.

“Michelle said she’s going to get someone round first thing tomorrow but it’ll take a while to get sorted. Have you got everything you need out of there?”

Trixie nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. It was silly, really, to get upset over something that could easily be fixed - and would be soon - but she couldn’t help sulking, looking at the piles of clothes and makeup and shoes scattered about.

Katya threw her phone aside so it bounced atop Trixie’s leaning tower of dresses and opened her arms wide. Trixie shuffled into her embrace, sighing and closing her eyes when Katya held her, tight just how she liked it. “It’s going to be alright, you know how efficient Michelle is. I’m just glad you weren’t fuckin’ in there when it all collapsed.”

“Yeah, me too. It wouldn’t be fair for me to die first when you look like a zombie already.” She quipped, smiling against Katya’s shoulder, tacky from the remnants of suncream. 

Katya’s wheeze laugh comforted her tenfold. Trixie pulled back first but clasped Katya’s hands in hers, holding them low between both their hips. 

“Let’s organise all this and see what’ll fit in my room and I’ll order food so it’ll get here by the time we’re done.” Katya suggested and Trixie blankly agreed, going along with whatever Katya determined - she was too muddled to think clearly but she was grateful she had Katya. Katya was certainly not a practical person (quite the opposite) but she never failed, in times of trouble, to step up and take care of her.

“Thank you. I’m just…” She trailed off.

“I know, honey, this isn’t your idea of a nice Saturday night is it?”

They worked together, folding her things and organising everything into categories (dresses, tops, skirts, underwear, makeup etc etc) before Katya put an order in at the Thai place they frequented up the road. Then, Katya went to her room to move some stuff around whilst Trixie messaged her thanks to Michelle.

“I’ve managed to clear a drawer for you and, you’ll be very glad to know, I put away the shit that I’d dumped on my armchair so you can use that, if that helps?” 

That was what Trixie liked about Katya. She was loyal to those she loved and kind to everyone, but with Trixie she was always extra considerate, doing things she wouldn’t for many other people. It made Trixie feel special, like she belonged, like she wasn’t just the younger of the two of them, still finding her feet and escaping her history back in America. She enjoyed how Katya took her under her wing, looked after her in unconventional ways, whilst Trixie simultaneously made sure Katya ate and laughed and didn’t become the recluse she always joked she was. They were good for each other.

Trixie thanked her lucky stars every damn day that she had come across the ‘Americans in London’ Facebook group and had found Katya looking for a flat mate as her friend Fena was going back to Boston. Katya had posted photos of the flat and given the customary information but had also made weird jokes and wrote what should have been some boring, necessary details in a way which intrigued Trixie immediately. She had messaged her right away and they both discovered how alike yet how positively different they were too, enough for there to be room for interesting conversations and debating of opinions. Trixie had moved in in under a week’s time after their first point of contact and their landlady, Michelle, was just as taken by her as she was of Katya. 

It was coming up to Trixie’s six month anniversary of living with Katya and she was delighted that the fucking roof caving in was the only trouble she had ever had. Her contract was due for renewal and there was no doubt that she would, indeed, renew it. 

Katya held her hand as she led her to her bedroom and showed Trixie what she could use. Katya’s room was bigger than Trixie’s and her bed was pushed up nearer to the window so she had more floor space, enough room for a patterned rug and the aforementioned armchair which Trixie made fun of as it was positioned to face Katya’s bed. “Who are you inviting over to watch you sleep?” She often joked and Katya would wiggle her eyebrows suggestively and they would fall about laughing every time. 

Katya helped her carry a few piles of clothes to put on the chair and Trixie laid out all her underwear in Katya’s drawer. That they hadn’t even discussed that Trixie would move into Katya’s room with her was really a testament to how selfless Katya could be and Trixie would have felt bad for encroaching on her personal space were it not just a given, in Katya’s mind, to offer whatever she could.

They had finished by the time their takeaway arrived and Trixie shovelled her food down, stealing some of Katya’s but making sure she ate enough too, at one point holding the last vegetable spring roll out for her to chomp away on directly from her hand, cackling when the filling spilled out and went down Katya’s chin and onto the table. 

Once they were done, Trixie cleaned up whilst Katya got changed and texted her friends to let them know what had happened. Then, she wandered down the hallway and went to the far end of the corridor instead of turning at the first door on the right. Katya, in a black tank top and shorts, was dancing around on her rug like she was prone to whenever she had intended to do something but got distracted by her own mind in the process. 

“If this is how you get ready for bed, no wonder you have trouble sleeping so much, you fuckin’ crazy person.” Trixie said, folding her arms and leaning against the doorway, not crossing the threshold just yet. 

“You know it’s because I have a deeply troubled mind.” Katya grinned manically, beckoning Trixie over. 

Trixie came to her, placing her hands on her shoulders to keep her still. “I’m not joining your little dance party. I ate so much, I’ll just vom all over you.”

“Oh, I’m into that, do your worst.” Katya winked overdramatically and spun out of Trixie’s hold, kicking her legs out and clapping underneath her raised knee in intervals, no rhythm to her movements. 

Trixie yawned as if on cue and whined that she was tired after such a stressful night. Katya relented and sent her off to the bathroom to take her makeup off and clean her teeth and promised that she would have everything perfect for a good night’s sleep when Trixie got back. Trixie rolled her eyes, grabbed some sleep shorts and a t-shirt and hurried out of the room. 

She had slept in Katya’s bed several times before when her friends had stayed over after a night out. In her group, she had the best living arrangement and because she was on the Northern Line and was only a thirty second walk from the 134 bus stop, it was always the best option. She would shush everyone as she managed to get her key in the door in her feeble attempts not to wake Katya when, really, she knew she wouldn’t be asleep anyway. Then, she usually made sure everyone had water and paracetamol and that they weren’t about to throw up, before tip-toeing to Katya’s room, pushing the door open and greeting her softly. Katya would grin at her and make fun of her all drunk and sloppy but would lift the duvet up ready for her to get in with her.

She liked sleeping with Katya, despite how she sometimes called out during a bad dream or flung her arm across the bed, accidentally hitting Trixie. It was nice, to hear her inhalations and exhalations, to feel safe and warm and at home with her by her side. She hadn’t thought she would have made such a good friend when she arrived in London, would have someone in her life who was so dependable and solid when, in the past, she had only really known unstable or irresponsible people, other than her grandparents. When they had both died within months of each other, she had fled. And it was as if Katya had been waiting for her, to catch her as she fell.

She went through her skin care routine and changed, uncharacteristically leaving her clothes on the bathroom floor. Fuck, she needed a cuddle. She hoped Katya would be amenable and then shook her head, frowning at herself, because of course she would be, she always was. She didn’t know what she was thinking. Sighing to herself (at herself), she turned the light off and padded back to Katya’s room.

Katya had bathed the space in candlelight and had got some incense burning. She had turned around the big frame of some creepy artwork that Trixie didn’t like, which usually rested against the wall next to her armchair, and was dousing their pillows with a lavender deep sleep spray. 

“Oh my god, you were serious.” Trixie said, amazed, coming to stand at the foot of the bed. 

Katya put away the bottle in her bedside cabinet and stood up, stood tall, evidently proud of herself. “Of course. It’s the least I can do. Come on, get in.” She motioned skittishly to her covers. They were plain black but of fine Egyptian cotton. Trixie knew Katya wasn’t the type to be that interested in home decor, but she had good taste in materials, in what felt good. 

She walked round to her side of the bed and the fact that she even had one made her chest bloom with warmth. Her appreciation for Katya grew so it felt like it left her body and spread like the candlelight flickering, casting the white walls in a golden glow. Katya blew out all the candles once Trixie had settled and got in beside her, keeping some distance between them at first. 

“Katya.” She prompted, voice small and low now they were both blanketed in darkness. She could always be herself, loud or quiet, around Katya, safe in the knowledge that she wouldn’t be judged (and because she thought Katya was at least ten times grosser and stranger than she was, when really Trixie was the absolute beast out of the two of them) so she had no qualms about communicating her needs right then. “I need a hug.”

Trixie practically sensed the smile spreading across Katya’s face. Her smile was hypnotic, wide and bright like sunshine, and her teeth were so fucking perfect, it made Trixie want to cut a bitch. The mattress dipped and Katya slotted her body against hers, turning Trixie over properly so she lay facing the window. Katya slung her arm over the dip of Trixie’s waist and Trixie felt the heat of her, over every inch of where they connected, but especially where Katya spread her hand over her chest, keeping her hushed and calm and soothed. 

“I feel really idiotic for being so bothered. I don’t even know why I’m…” Trixie admonished herself.

Katya nosed into her hair, squeezed her a little tighter. “Your room is your space, it’s where you feel at home, it’s the one spot that’s a hundred percent yours. Of course you’ll be unsettled by that being destroyed. I know how much this place means to you and it, like, embodies the life you’ve got here now. So it’s not idiotic, it’s a perfectly normal response.”

“Sometimes I forget you’re a therapist because you’re such a nutcase when you’re not at work.” She teased, bringing her hand to cover Katya’s, slotting her fingers in between hers. “Thank you. You’re right.”

“Of course I am. I know you, and not just because you’re textbook abused kid with daddy issues.” Trixie felt the tiny rumble of laughter in Katya’s chest, mirrored it and rubbed her feet together like a chirpy little cricket. 

“I can sleep on the sofa tomorrow night, by the way, if you want some space.” She suggested halfheartedly. 

“Don’t be silly, though if you do want to escape my yeti mating calls and banshee screams, I won’t hold it against you.”

Trixie pressed her face into the pillow to stop herself from laughing too vigorously. “I’m quite happy like this, I promise.” She murmured.

“Me too.” 

Trixie fell asleep soon after, soundly and with Katya all around her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone, for your support so far! I hope you enjoy this chapter, too :)))

The man Michelle sent round came at ten thirty and, thankfully, both Trixie and Katya were up, showered and dressed. They collectively decided to leave him to it and Katya suggested they go get brunch at their favourite local cafe. Trixie could never refuse such an invitation. 

That morning was milder and more overcast so she put on her pale pink, faux leather jacket over her tropical print body and zebra print mini skirt. It was the most outlandish outfit she’d worn in a while but she wanted to feel fierce and, when Katya had caught sight of her, Trixie preened from how she had been visibly taken aback. 

They walked arm in arm up the main road, Katya doing everything in her power to make Trixie laugh. They got a rickety table outside the cafe in the small cordoned off area to the side of it and Katya went in, up to the counter to order their usuals, leaving Trixie to catch up on messages and reassure her friends that she was fine. If it was slightly suspect that all of them mentioned how good it was to be staying in Katya’s room, she paid it no mind, instead laughing to herself at her followers’ reactions to an Instagram post she had made earlier that morning using one of the photos Katya had taken with a witty caption. 

Trixie watched Katya through the tall windows where she was nattering away with the guy at the till. Her hair was wild, grazing her shoulders in white-blonde waves, and the black denim, zip up dress she was wearing rode up short when she leaned up and over to greet one of the other waitresses they usually saw there. Her bare legs were pale and bruised from god knows what and her silver docs rounded off the true Katya-ness of her outfit. Trixie smiled privately to herself, playing with her hair.

When Katya returned and plonked down on the wonky, wooden chair in front of her, Trixie positively beamed.

“What do you want to do after we’ve eaten?” Katya asked. Trixie knew what she was scheming, keeping her busy so by the time they got back to the flat, any of her unease about the situation would have dissipated. Trixie’s recovery periods usually never lasted beyond a day, though that depended on the severity of whatever had upset her in the first place. Of course Katya was attuned to those sorts of things with her line of work but Trixie found it lovely, nonetheless, how she supported Trixie without advertently making it apparent she was doing so. 

“I don’t mind.” She said. “We could get the bus to Camden then walk along the canal to King’s Cross? We haven’t done that in a while.”

“Sure.” Katya said. Their fresh juices arrived with their breakfasts and Trixie encouraged Katya to finish her eggs benedict properly with the promise of buying her her favourite rose flavoured turkish delight from the green grocer’s near the station. 

They chatted about everything and nothing, remarking on passersby and coming up with their potential life stories, ranging from the mundane to the absolutely impossible (“That full on grandma is not a stripper, Katya, she’s clearly a special agent working on a massive drugs bust.”) and laughing until their stomachs hurt. 

Getting on the bus, a container of turkish delights in hand, Katya led them to the top deck but cursed the front seats not being free. Trixie also liked sitting at the giant window, watching the cars and the cyclists and the buildings before her - the ideal view of all of London for only £1.50 a journey - but was content, that day, to sidle up beside Katya and watch her devour half the serving of sweets in under a minute. For someone who hated food, she sure could put away sugar like it was going out of style. 

Camden was ridiculously busy. Trixie grabbed onto Katya’s hand for fear of her wandering off into a market stall and the streams of people coming in all directions swallowing her up, never to be seen again. They made their way down the cobbled walkway to the canal and turned left to follow the waterside path, away from the hustle and bustle. As ever, there were junkies dealing weed and other unmentionables, standing in no way inconspicuously by the heavily graffitied walls, and groups of friends sat drinking bottles of Corona or Budweiser with their legs dangling off the edge of the concrete. She felt Katya’s palm get sweaty but held on anyway. It didn’t bother her.

“I wonder how long it’ll take to get the roof fixed.” Trixie said, swinging their clasped hands in between them both as they strolled, dodging the cyclists speeding past inconsiderately.

“No idea. Michelle told me she had a whole team of construction workers coming once this guy has finalised what needs doing.”

Trixie smirked. “Good job I took all my sexy underwear out of my room then, if a load of men are gonna be in there.” Katya laughed and made a disgusted noise. “Like _men_ , in _my_ room? Oh honey, that’s rarer than you doing good makeup, honey! _Honey_.” 

Katya full on shrieked then, bumping her shoulder into Trixie’s and shaking her arm about. “So true.” She wheezed and Trixie squeezed her hand.

When they reached King’s Cross, they sat for a while in Gasholder Park under the metal structures, blinking up at the sun as it peered around the gliding clouds. Trixie showed Katya a few funny videos she had been sent on her phone and Katya wrapped her arm around her shoulders as she leaned in to watch. 

Trixie relished in her proximity, sneaking glances at her reactions every so often like she was double checking that Katya really was alright too. Katya spent so much of her time ensuring the wellbeing of others as best as possible that Trixie often wondered, if it weren’t for her, who would check up on her? Before, she assumed Fena was her confidant and had that pretty much confirmed whenever they Facetimed her together. Now, Trixie considered it an honourable duty to be there for Katya and, if she were being honest with herself, she didn’t think anyone else was up to scratch. 

“Thank you again, for being so helpful and everything. I can hardly believe it.” Trixie nudged her playfully. 

“God, that was so close to being a compliment.” Katya said with a smile. She patted her lap. “You’re welcome. Now rest that pretty head of yours and let me play with your hair.”

Trixie did as she was told, maneuvering herself to lie down. She flicked her hair so none of it was trapped between her head and Katya’s thigh and glanced up at her. Katya only asked to fiddle with something of Trixie’s if she wasn’t firing on all cylinders. “You know, you should be the one in this position talking about your problems if you’re not feeling too great.”

Katya rolled her eyes good naturedly. “How many times do I have to tell you that my clients just fuckin’ sit down on a chair like normal?”

Trixie laughed at her indignation. “Nothing about what you do is normal.” She retorted, closing her eyes as Katya began to weave her fingers through her roots. “Come on then, tell me what’s up.”

Katya lightly scratched at her scalp before smoothing her fingers down her strands of peroxide blonde. “It’s nothing really, it’s stupid because you’ve told me you appreciate what I’ve done but...I don’t know. I’m overthinking everything, like, wondering how differently I would have said or suggested something if it was a client in this situation. You’re not a client, I don’t ever think of you like that, but it’s, uh, my only point of, uh, reference, y’know?”

“I know.” She murmured to keep Katya going.

“It’s not like I don’t want anything to upset you because that’s just an unrealistic approach to life and also patronising and also like I’m wrapping you in cotton wool or some bullshit which isn’t at all necessary but...I just want to make sure I’m as useful as I can be, especially as I’m so useless at so much else.”

Trixie reached up and took a hold of Katya’s hand, stilling her for the moment. “You wouldn’t be you if you weren’t overthinking. I don’t care that you can’t cook and you forget to do the cleaning or any of that shit, you know that deep down. I _do_ care about how wonderful you are to me all the time, not just now, so there’s no need to think about behaving differently. You’re perfectly imperfect as you are, you old boot, so keep going and stop fretting.”

“Fuck, we’re such lesbians aren’t we?” Trixie could hear Katya grin around her words. “Over-analytical, over-emotional, over-reassuring—”

“Over you saying all that as if it’s a bad thing.” Trixie interrupted, knowing full well that Katya didn’t mean it that way.

“Over your rancid pussy juices seeping out from all your orifices.”

Trixie scream-laughed and told her to shut up. “You’re disgusting. I hate you.”

Katya hummed, clearly pleased with herself and feeling better, though she continued playing with Trixie’s hair. Trixie sank deeper into Katya and they whiled away their afternoon, only moving, begrudgingly, when they got thirsty.

They ended up at The Lighterman, the pub by the canal which overlooked Granary Square too and had a gorgeous terrace filled with shrubbery and potted plants. Trixie sent Katya upstairs to get them a table whilst she went to the bar and bought a bottle of prosecco and a diet coke. She brought it all up and spotted Katya in the sunshine, looking out over the glass balustrade. She had put her sunglasses on and Trixie predicted how she’d joke, in her creepy voice, “All the better to spy on people with.” 

Trixie cracked open her bottle, proud it didn’t fizz and spill over, and poured herself a glass, clinking her drink against Katya’s before taking a long sip. Once she finished her first, she took her jacket off and Katya reached over to poke at her shoulders where the faintest freckles had appeared from the previous day’s sunbathing session. Trixie took a picture of Katya’s head popping up over the neck of the prosecco bottle and posted it to her stories, and steadfastly ignored Kim’s comment telling her to be careful not to get too tipsy when she was ending up in Katya’s bed again that night. “Who knows what'll happen then!” Trixie fought the urge to turn her phone off, putting it face down on the table instead.

They ordered food once Trixie realised the alcohol was going to her head far too quickly. She made fun of Katya’s salad and devoured her beetroot tatin and completely forgot all her worries about her room. When she had finished her bottle, she paid and let Katya take her home, slumping against her during their bus ride.

Katya left her on the sofa once they got in, bringing her her laptop so she could watch something whilst she got prepared for work the next day. Trixie didn’t want it to be Monday so soon, feeling as if part of her weekend had been stolen from her with the whole roof ordeal, and, furthermore, she had enjoyed her day with Katya so much that she didn’t want it to end, didn’t want to go their separate ways after their alarms and rushed good mornings and coffees to go. 

“Shall we go check on your room?” Katya asked. Trixie paused her show and nodded and got to her feet, a little woozy but not that tipsy anymore. Katya opened the door and peered inside and Trixie waited for her to remark on it before she took a look herself. “He’s not done much. I guess the real work will start tomorrow.”

Trixie came up behind Katya, then, and saw for herself the lack of any real changes. She agreed, reached around Katya to close the door and announced that she was going to get ready for bed. It was still rather early but the alcohol had suddenly made her lethargic, not necessarily sleepy but like she needed to slump and droop and use as little energy as possible to unwind. 

She laid out her outfit for the morning, placing her bra and briefs on top. They weren’t anything special - she saved her really nice sets for the weekends and Friday if she was feeling fancy - but she wasn’t the kind of gal to be embarrassed about that sort of stuff, especially not with Katya around who, if left to her own devices, would no doubt leave her vibrators out for all to see. 

Once she’d changed and done her night time routine, she got under the covers and tried to chase the remnants of the sleep spray from the night before. All she could smell was herself on the pillow she had used so, curiously, she edged towards Katya’s and breathed in. She couldn’t smell lavender there either but she could smell Katya’s perfume, the fucking expensive one she didn’t even need to douse herself in for it to waft behind her wherever she went, and the scent of her, unique and familiar. She pulled back just in time, Katya’s footsteps nearing.

“I’m assuming you’re decent.” She said as she wandered in.

“Fortunately for you.” Trixie replied, arranging herself so she was cosy, only her head on show, popping out of the duvet.

Katya huffed a laugh at her. “You look so cute like that.” 

“I always look cute, you bitch.” She quickly retorted. “Argh, fuck, I left my phone in the living room. Could you get it for me?” She batted her eyelashes like the absolute darling she was. 

“What do you say?” Katya planted her hands on her hips, making a show of being put out.

“Please.” 

Katya trudged off, enacting all the physical comedy she could, dragging her body across the floor like she’d lost the use of her legs, sprawling in supposed exhaustion when she got to the corridor and then moving up into a crab to scuttle backwards as if she was possessed, eyes rolling back and tongue stuck out. 

Trixie laughed until Katya returned, thanking her and catching her phone when she threw it her way. Katya went to the bathroom and Trixie unlocked her phone, having forgotten about the message she had left, unreplied to, on her screen. She grunted, swiping it away, set her alarm and plugged her phone in to charge, aware of the crease in her forehead as she frowned. _Childish idiots_ , she thought, turning on her side towards the door and shoving her arm underneath her pillow. 

Her friends teased her about Katya at least once a week, usually when Trixie turned down an invitation to go out in favour of staying in with her for their Friday night takeaway. In her defense, she much preferred clubbing on Saturday anyway - she wasn’t wiped out from working all week and, if they went to the RVT, Duckie was better than whatever else they put on. Plus, Katya didn’t have many friends with Fena no longer around and, whilst she sometimes tagged along to whatever Trixie’s friends were doing, she expressed how out of place she felt despite how welcoming and nice everyone was, and constantly worried that she clung to Trixie too much. She didn’t feel like that every time, she had made clear to Trixie soon after they became properly close, it just depended on her general mood. So Trixie liked ensuring the two of them had at least one night where they hung out by themselves, where she could give Katya the attention and social interaction she pretended she didn’t need.

When Katya got into bed beside her, her frustration had fizzled out, her eyelids heavy. A yawn caught in her throat. She asked Katya to use that spray on her pillow again and almost asked her not to use it on her own, but that would have seemed strange even to her, so she refrained. 

“Sit up.” Katya said, spritzing a decent amount over her sheets too. Trixie breathed it in and hummed contentedly. “Well, I know what I’m getting you for your birthday then.”

Trixie huffed a laugh and told her if that was _all_ she was getting then she would disown her. She eased back into her pillow, her hair fanning out around her. Katya kept her lamp on but lay down too. They talked about potential plans for a party, for what she might like to do just together and which bar Trixie would likely go to with her colleagues, all the while Kim’s words at the back of her mind. She didn’t know why that message got to her when most of the others she just responded to with the middle finger emoji and moved on, but it had and she resented it. 

Their conversation naturally dwindled and Trixie struggled to keep her eyes open, blinking at Katya as if to silently ask her to switch the light off. Katya just watched her, the corners of her mouth upturning slightly, so Trixie also took the chance to study her face, how her left eyebrow was a little patchy where it arched, how her lips were stained from the NARS red lipstick she wore all the time, how her eyes were bluer than Trixie thought humanly possible. 

Just as Trixie felt herself drift off, Katya eclipsed the room into darkness. It wrapped around Trixie like Katya had the night before and, suddenly, she yearned for the same tenderness, the kind of behaviour Katya reserved only for her, the ease at which they combined. It wasn’t because she was drunk, like how Kim had joked. It was because Katya was more than whatever her friends implied. Over and above. Wisconsin had been where she grew up. Being in London with Katya was her home-in-the-making. 

With that thought, she rolled right over to Katya’s side and rested her head on her chest. “This ok?” She mumbled.

“Of course.” Katya whispered and held her, rubbing her back gently. Trixie felt the ghost of a kiss gifted to her forehead and slipped under.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, lovely people. Posting sliiiightly earlier than scheduled but I'm assuming you won't complain ;) And I hope that you enjoy this chapter! 
> 
> I nearly wrote 'don't forget to like, comment and subscribe' then so you can probably figure out what my current WIP is about...Ahem, anyway. Thank you for your comments and feedback so far. I'm on tumblr with the same username if you'd like a chat :)

Trixie soon learnt, upon moving in with her, that Katya’s sleep schedule was unique, to say the least. Katya had once explained that she could sleep between zero and twelve hours a night and that she never knew which it was going to be when she put her head down on her pillow. 

That Monday morning, Trixie woke as it was still just becoming light outside to the rustle and huffs of Katya blindly rummaging and moving around the room. It must have been no later than five, Trixie thought, so she didn’t stir. And she could have easily gone back to sleep, except, when she opened her eyes and blinked, she caught sight of Katya bent over, completely naked, pulling some underwear out of one of her overpacked drawers. 

Her blonde hair tumbled over her bare shoulders and her fringe was messy, not yet brushed or styled. Her breasts were small and round and firm and her stomach rolled ever so slightly as she tried to find what she wanted. Trixie’s pulse pounded like she was doing something she shouldn’t have been but wasn’t of the disposition to stop, even when it was a bit taboo, if not entirely wrong. She hadn’t seen Katya completely nude before. Katya was respectful of boundaries and Trixie didn’t wander around topless like Farrah used to during college, so it was surprising to Trixie, to see her in such a way, like she had forgotten Trixie was in her bed, right there. 

Trixie trailed her gaze down to the swell of Katya’s ass, more bony than peachy, the solidity of her muscly thighs and the smoothness of her lean calves. Her toes were painted red but, even if she squinted, Trixie couldn’t see if they had become more chipped than at the weekend. Katya finally took hold of what she had been after and stood upright, facing the door so Trixie could view her side profile. She couldn’t help but glance at the short tufts of hair between her legs until Katya pulled on her briefs. 

Trixie looked back at her face, at her razor sharp cheekbones and defined jawline, shadowed and thus even more prominent than in broad daylight. Her expression was blank, like she was stuck in her own head and only going through the motions without being truly present, too occupied by a thought or a problem. Such a state made Trixie uncomfortable, made her fear that she couldn’t reach Katya when she was that way and, even if she could, she wasn’t of the suitable intelligence to spar with her, to match her internal dialogue. Katya was the smartest person she had ever met. And perhaps the most beautiful too, inside and out, now she had accumulated enough evidence to judge. 

Once Katya had put her bra on, Trixie closed her eyes just as she was about to turn and walk across to her wardrobe. She swallowed thickly, the worry that Katya had been aware of her watching pressing on her chest like a heavy stone. 

She listened to her carefully open one of the doors and lift something off a hanger. Probably her black and white houndstooth dress she often wore for work, Trixie pondered, as it was one of the few pieces she owned that was actually appropriate. Katya had the habit of starting the week all proper and professional and then ending up in jeans and a t-shirt by Friday. She wondered whether her clients on Monday had any idea of how different she looked then, compared to later days. She let herself smile, took a refreshing breath and burrowed further into the duvet, drifting off until her alarm sounded.

Her day was typical, catching up on emails and attending meetings and helping Raven determine the agenda for the following few weeks, liaising with other MAC offices across the globe. She sat outside to have her lunch while the weather was good, checking her phone for the usual text off Katya, responding to Trixie’s wishing her a bearable morning, and replying to other messages from her friends. During a lull in conversations, Trixie sat back and considered what she had seen earlier, before dawn had broken. It didn’t seem real, not like she had imagined it, but because the image she had had of Katya before was always missing a few details. Now, she could fill in the blanks, and she wasn’t used to it and it felt unequal, for her to know such intimate specifics about Katya’s body when it wasn’t the same vice versa. 

She didn’t feel guilty for sneaking a peek and she was sure Katya wouldn’t have minded, but something didn’t quite sit right. She shifted from side to side on the bench she was on and suppressed the shiver threatening to run down her spine, teasing her nape like the unexpected kiss of a chilly breeze. 

By the time she got home, her concern had transferred to the state of her room and she dashed down the hallway to inspect what had been done. Everything had been cleared away and there were sheets of plastic covering the hole in the roof. Her furniture had been pushed to the sides of the walls and there were ladders and other bits of equipment left for the workmen to pick up again the following day. She sighed and started getting dinner prepared once she changed into comfy clothes, ready for Katya, who was due to arrive at half seven.

When Katya finally burst through the front door, phone pressed to her ear and talking a mile a minute, Trixie laughed for what felt like the first time that day. She plated up their food, still piping hot, and sat at the table waiting for her before she started herself. She checked the group chat, scrolling through all the memes interspersed between actual gossip and birthday planning talk, and tuned in to Katya rabbiting away to her mom as she went into her bedroom first, then checked Trixie’s on the way to the lounge. She hung up, telling her mom she loved her, and took her seat, smiling from ear to ear at Trixie. 

“Hello.” Katya greeted her, pronouncing her inflections exaggeratedly. 

“Hi.” Trixie said, purposefully loud and harsh so Katya would comment on it.

They talked about their day and Trixie asked Katya about her patients, telling her how pleased she was to hear that Maggie, one of her newest, had used a few of Katya’s techniques to stop herself from acting on her intrusive thoughts. “You’ve worked wonders with her in such a short amount of time. She must be really proud of herself.” 

“She’s definitely getting there.” Katya nodded and finished everything on her plate, Trixie gaining further confirmation that it had been a positive day for her. 

“What do you want for dessert?” Trixie’s instinct was to provide for Katya and food was the most basic but the most important, in her opinion, of means to do so.

“Pussy!” Katya exclaimed, sending Trixie spinning, her socked feet sliding on their kitchen floor as she cackled abrasively.

“Oh honey, I think we could all eat a bit of that right now.” Trixie fired back, winking dramatically and continuing their dirty jokes and innuendos throughout eating two Magnums, each of them lewdly licking the ice cream and making increasingly louder ‘UNHhhh’ sounds until they could no longer speak from laughing too much. 

Katya offered to wash up and they chatted over the run of the water and clacking of crockery. “Looks like it’ll be at least a few more days until your room will be ready again.” Katya commented and Trixie hummed in acknowledgement, not so bothered anymore now she knew it was in the process of being sorted.

“You’re so lucky to be stuck with me.” She grinned, coming up behind Katya and making the ‘UNHhhh’ sound again, this time right in her ear so she screeched, all high pitched and flappy, and flicked water at her until she scurried away to the sofa to get something up on Netflix for them to watch together. 

“What was that gay film you were talking about a few weeks ago?” Trixie called out to her.

“You need to be more specific, that could be anything.” Katya quipped, wiping her hands on a tea towel and disappearing down the corridor. 

“The British one with the farmers.” She raised her voice so Katya could hear her.

Katya quickly got changed into what she slept in and re-emerged. “ _Oh_ , God’s Own Country.”

“Got it!” Trixie cheered and arranged herself comfortably on the sofa, beckoning Katya over to sit or lie with her, however she deemed best. They ended up with the laptop on the coffee table, Katya almost flat on her back with Trixie curled up on her side in between Katya’s spread legs. It was the only fathomable way they could both see the small screen. Trixie didn’t really know why they didn’t have a TV, but they didn’t, so they made do. And it worked.

“God, gay guys really just go for it don’t they.” Trixie commented when the protagonist roughly fucked another guy in a horse box. “Like, lesbians will mull over a two second interaction with another woman - not even _talking_ \- for months on end without ever doing something more, or they’ll harbour feelings for their best friend for twenty years and will just be like ‘ugh she’ll never think of me that way’. Meanwhile said friend has been sadly humping her pillow over the bikini pics she posted to Instagram and they get nowhere.”

“ _Yes_ , so true.” Katya laughed, punctuating each of her words by lightly slapping Trixie’s shoulder. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.” She said, then, voice barely audible over the film.

“We’ve all humped a pillow in our time.” Trixie admitted, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the screen. She was suddenly acutely aware of all the places they were touching. 

“Four hundred thread count doesn’t do it for me anymore.” Katya put on her creepy voice and they both laughed, drowning out the dialogue.

A short while later, when the two main characters were beginning to properly warm up to each other, Katya’s hand weaved into Trixie’s hair. She played with a few of her waves, and Trixie felt her wrap one around her finger to curl it more before letting it drop and starting all over again with another section. She hummed, the sensation beyond pleasant, and brought her hand to gently squeeze Katya’s side. 

“If I was into men, I would definitely see the appeal of Gheorghe.” Trixie said. 

“Oh yeah, he’s a bit of a hunk in a wooly jumper isn’t he?”

Trixie smiled against Katya’s stomach, the thought of her being with a man in any shape or form so unimaginable that it was amusing. “You’re not turning straight on me now, are you?”

Katya barked out a laugh. “Would you feel betrayed?”

Trixie smiled wider, rubbed her cheek where it rested on Katya to stifle her guffaw. “Forsaken. Abandoned. Heartbroken!” She affected, a warmth spreading through her entire body as Katya patted her head in mock comfort.

“Aww, poor baby. Good job I’ll forever be a militant dyke then, hey?”

They finished the rest of the film, making funny observations here and there but generally just enjoying it and the company of each other, the closeness. When the credits rolled, Trixie made a move to get up and turn it off but Katya kept her where she was and discussed the plot and characterisations in more detail, as she was prone to do, providing her analysis whilst Trixie nodded and listened intently to her explanations - her mind and how it worked was, to her, the eighth wonder of the world. 

“You’re so smart.” Trixie cooed, reaching up to pinch Katya’s cheek and narrowly avoiding Katya biting at her palm. 

They bantered as they went about their bedtime routines. Trixie had gotten so used to theirs becoming intertwined in such a short amount of time that, as she cleaned her teeth and checked herself over in the bathroom mirror with Katya mere inches apart from her doing the very same, she wondered if she would adjust going back to how it used to be beforehand. She liked having the dull moments of her life mirrored in another person’s. 

Under the covers, Trixie watched Katya dart about, closing the curtains and blowing out the incense that she had been burning for a minute or so to bring back an earthy, rich scent into their shared space, eradicating any remaining traces of the building work drifting through from Trixie’s room earlier that day. Trixie noted how her vest rode up when she reached to put something away on one of her shelves and how she rubbed absently at a bruise before climbing into bed too. 

Katya turned on her side to face Trixie and wiggled until she was much nearer to her face. Even in the dark, Trixie could catch the glint in Katya’s eyes, the precise details of her that she had searched for that morning when she shouldn’t have been awake. Trixie suddenly felt the need to disclose what she had witnessed. It wasn’t exactly shame that she was harbouring, but it seemed unfair, somehow, to keep it to herself and not make Katya aware, just in case she was unnerved or hadn’t realised what she was doing. She had seemed really not with it, what with it being so early and all. 

“I saw you, this morning.” She swallowed but didn’t sever their shared eye contact. “I didn’t mean to, I just woke up and...there you were.”

Katya pursed her lips and paused before breaking out into a grin, the kind that teased Trixie, that made her feel like there was a joke that she hadn’t been let in on quite yet. It wasn’t an unpleasant action. It had got to the point where they knew one another so well that Trixie appreciated a bit of uncertainty, of something to bicker about or question. And Katya was often so quick that it challenged her to keep up and made it even sweeter when she overtook. 

“What’s that look for?” She prompted.

“Nothing.” Katya protested. “I just thought it was a bit weird when I turned around and you were lying on your back looking like the fucking popes laid to rest in the Vatican papal tombs.”

“Ok, I know your religious upbringing affected you but can you please not liken me to corpses. I’m too sexy and gorgeous for that.”

“Of course.” Katya winked and they both cackled, Trixie leaning into the space between Katya’s neck and her shoulder. 

Katya wrapped her arms around her and held her tightly. “Sorry for flashing you. I didn’t want to keep going from the bathroom to the bedroom ‘cause you know what I’m like. I would forget my own boobs if they weren’t attached to my chest.” 

“Katya, they’re so flat, you might as well have forgotten them.”

Katya snapped her head back and screamed, the wonderful volume of it filling their whole flat with hysteria, the two of them rolling around, kicking their legs out and grabbing onto each other’s arms to shake them about. “You rotted cunt!” 

When their laughter died down, Trixie was still buzzing, not one bit tired anymore. The two of them had parted to lie on their backs and catch their breath but Trixie missed Katya’s presence, which was nuts because she was _right there_. Still, she kept to herself until Katya yawned and rolled to Trixie’s side of the bed, her arm flopping over Trixie’s body and her nose brushing Trixie’s when she leaned up to give her a soft eskimo kiss. She could feel her breath tickle her and how her palm was damp and she paid close attention to how Katya’s eyelashes fluttered, how she relaxed deeply into her, to ease her inhalations and exhalations. Her lips rested right by Trixie’s pulse point and she felt the thud of her heartbeat heighten.

She imagined what she would do if Katya actually kissed her there, or on her lips. Was it much different to the intimacy they already shared and adored? She fell asleep cupping Katya’s cheek, half in the mindset to try it herself in a daze of curiosity, though her sensibility won out. Instead, she kissed her hairline and her forehead and the bridge of her nose and smiled, feeling more serene than she ever could have pictured being. 

In the morning, Trixie woke first, before either of their alarms. They had barely moved an inch in the night. She wanted to stretch, to yawn and mentally prepare herself to get up and start the day, but she took one glance at Katya and all of that melted away. She did, however, indulge, shuffling down the bed a little so they were properly aligned, and stroked her fingers through Katya’s hair, down to her shoulder and up again.

“I’ve not had a sleep that good in so long.” Katya mumbled, voice deep and raspy. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” 

“It’s a nice way to wake up.” She smiled, blindly running her hands over Trixie’s arms and neck. 

They remained cuddled up until they really did have to get up. Trixie used the bathroom first and did her makeup in Katya’s mirror whilst Katya showered. It was only when she was swathed in her faux silk robe and was applying one final swipe of her favourite matte pink lipstick, that she realised she had forgotten the bra she had planned to wear with her outfit. She had left it on the counter next to the sink as she had just wrapped her towel around her when she returned to the bedroom. It was her only white one and she had put together a super cute look with a short sleeved white blouse, its peter pan collar totally complementing her general retro vibes. She couldn’t wear any of her others, she huffed to herself, the pinks and blues and yellows too visible and thus absolutely unprofessional. 

She checked the time and cursed. She needed to be out of the flat in ten minutes, tops. She shimmied into her skirt and zipped it up and slipped on her shoes, spraying her perfume and fastening in her earrings quickly too. She stuck her head out of the bedroom door and heard Katya shuffling around in the bathroom, and she breathed a sigh of relief, knowing she would be done soon. 

Now she’d seen Katya in the nude, she didn’t feel self conscious about her bare breasts. For one, they were a great pair of boobs but, more importantly, Katya seeing her like that would make it even between them, so she checked she had everything she needed in her handbag and waited for Katya to come out. 

When she did, she was partially dressed and held the strap of Trixie’s bra with the crook of her index finger, other hand on her cocked out hip. “I think you forgot somethi— _oh_.”

Katya’s eyes widened, comically so, her jaw dropped, and her mouth, accentuated by her bold red lipstick, came agape. A smug rush fizzed within Trixie. Brazenly, she sauntered over to where Katya was frozen on the spot, snatching her bra from her and thanking her before practically galloping off to the bathroom. She didn’t know what had come over her but she wasn’t naive enough to lie to herself - she had enjoyed rendering Katya stupid for a moment. It was one of the few opportunities she got.

By the time she was done, Katya had already left, not without fixing up Trixie a homemade iced coffee in her keep cup, however. She took a sip and burst out laughing at the note she had left. ‘Send a pussy pic? You still have an advantage! Have a good day, pervert xx’


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What even is an upload schedule anymore? I'm sure you won't mind another early update ;) 
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading this because I sure enjoyed writing it...As always, I love any feedback and I'm over on tumblr with the same username if you'd like to chat.

The following few days were much of the same. Trixie and Katya went to work, texted whenever they had a spare minute and came home to each other. Trixie made dinner, over which they discussed the state of Trixie’s room and, for all they knew the workmen had been there (their mucky foot prints in the hallway the more annoying of many clues indicating so), there wasn’t much obvious improvement. 

“I guess we’ve only just seen the inside. The outside, like, on the actual roof itself must be much worse so they’re probably sorting that first.” Trixie supplied with a shrug on Wednesday. Katya hummed and changed the subject and soon enough they were laughing into their salads.

On Thursday, Trixie agreed to go out for drinks after work with her friends. It had been a while since she had seen them and, despite their teasing about sharing a bed with Katya, they had all wanted to make sure she was alright and to, in their words, ‘take her mind off it all’. She had forgotten to tell Katya that morning, too cosy wrapped up in her arms with her lips softly grazing her ear as she spoke in hushed tones about the dream she’d had, so it got to lunch time before she forewarned her that she would have to sort her own dinner out.

“Shit, I’m gonna miss my little housewife.” Katya joked and it shouldn’t have pleased Trixie as much as it did but it served as confirmation that Katya really valued her contributions to their household and that she appreciated what Trixie did for her, like Trixie appreciated what Katya did too, in her own way.

Trixie’s office was right in Central London, close to Goodge Street station and a range of excellent bars and restaurants. She met Kim, Naomi and Shea outside Circolo Popolare, an Instagrammable Italian place, and made it through dinner with only a few remarks directed at her here and there. She sneakily messaged Katya in the toilets, sending her a selfie, and tried not to laugh too loudly when she instantly replied, “Still no pussy pic? Damn, you’re not as easy as I thought! (You look gorgeous) Say hi to the girls from me xx”

Once they had paid and Trixie had ranted about how much easier tipping was in London because it was automatically included, the group of them headed on to Mr Fogg’s, a flower and plant filled bar in Fitzrovia. Shea led them straight to the first floor where they ordered a range of cocktails from the ‘Language of Flowers’ menu. Trixie was in her element, especially as the topic of conversation was all to do with finalising the plans for her birthday outing the following weekend. Sipping on a ‘Pink Rose’ (because _obviously_ ), Trixie shrieked with excitement at the decision to do a fancy meal followed by a night out at the RVT, her favourite. 

“Is Katya coming?” Kim asked. Trixie was too busy finishing her drink to study whatever expression she may or may not have had on her face.

“I’m assuming she’ll see how she feels on the day, you know how she is.”

“What are you two doing together on your actual birthday?” Naomi asked. Trixie quite liked the assumption that she would be spending it with Katya, that it was a given. 

“I gave her some ideas but it’s down to her. She said she’s gonna surprise me as best as she can.” 

“I’m sure she’s going to spoil you rotten.” Shea said with an approving smile. Trixie wondered if the girls already knew, if Katya had been in cahoots with them the entire time.

It was nearing on eleven by the time they collectively decided that they had spent way too much money, had gotten way too drunk for a ‘school night’ and were certainly going to regret it in the morning. It was only when Trixie stood up that she truly realised just how wasted she was. The many, many cocktails should have been a clear indication and yet…

“Are you alright to get home?” Kim asked, not one bit sturdy on her feet when sober, never mind seven drinks down.

Trixie reassured everyone, gave hugs goodbye and stumbled along to the 134 bus stop, carefully keeping her head bowed. She almost dropped her oyster card down a grid when she got it out of her handbag and she may have received a dirty look from the driver but she clambered up to the top deck and was amazed to see a seat free by the front window. She grinned, pulled her phone out and called Katya like she always did when she was travelling alone whilst heavily under the influence. 

Katya picked up after three rings. “You’re hammered aren’t you?” Trixie could hear the affection drip from her voice.

“Just a little.” She slurred. She spent the rest of the journey retelling her night so by the time she had to press the stop button, it seemed as if barely five minutes had passed at all. Hanging up to get her key in the door, she tripped over the threshold of their flat and called out, “Honey, I’m home! Woo!”

Katya was in front of her instantly, checking her over before laughing at the severity of her intoxication. “And _just a little_ drunk, right?” She teased.

Katya brought her straight to their - _her_ \- bedroom, and sat her down. Trixie felt like a puppet with all its many strings cut, floppy and limber. Katya took her bag from her and sorted its contents, taking anything out that she didn’t need the next day, and Trixie watched her with a goofy smile. Her vision was blurry and she kept having to squint to see but she wasn’t about to take her eyes off Katya anytime soon. She wore some tight black shorts and a crop top and her hair was in a very badly done braid. She had taken her makeup off and Trixie touched her own face, remembering she had all hers still on, and groaned.

“You ok?” Katya asked as she got out some painkillers and Trixie’s sleep wear. 

“All the better for seeing you!” She proclaimed, shooting her hands up in the air then toppling over onto her back and cackling like a demonic bird.

“Oh my god.” She heard. Then, she felt Katya’s arms wrap around the backs of her knees. She pulled so her butt was near the edge of the mattress again and began to take Trixie’s shoes off. Trixie mustered all her remaining energy to sit up, resting her hands on Katya’s shoulders. Her skin was warm and Trixie closed her eyes, the lure of getting into bed with Katya and having her ease the spinning she was experiencing making her impatient all of a sudden. She whined and Katya shushed her, running her hand soothingly up and down her calf.

“You need to get undressed.” Katya reminded her but that only made her complain further. “Do you want me to do it for you?”

Trixie nodded and bit her lip when Katya unzipped her dress and somehow maneuvered her enough for it to come off. When Katya reached around her back to unhook her bra, Trixie flung her arms around Katya’s neck and pulled her close. She had apparently been a bit too forceful as Katya lost her balance. She didn’t fall on top of her, but she had to hop on the spot a few times to get to standing properly again. “Fucking hell, Trix, I love you too but right now you’re like a big pink koala.”

“I’ve not got chlamydia though.” She retorted, laughing when Katya gave up and came to sit beside her, shaking her head though very evidently amused. 

Trixie felt her straps flop as she shifted and decidedly took the damn bra right off, flinging it across the room so she couldn’t determine where it actually landed. 

“Not gonna brush your teeth?” Katya asked halfheartedly, likely not bothered by her breath enough to warrant the required energy expenditure of carrying Trixie to the bathroom. Trixie didn’t blame her one bit and couldn’t be bothered either. She told her no, she just wanted to go to bed, so Katya pulled back the covers and helped her under. Trixie was on Katya’s side but Katya didn’t seem to mind, walking around to the other and getting in.

She kept her distance again initially, and Trixie kicked up a fuss until Katya told her to shut up and came up behind her to spoon her. Trixie felt her shift her hair out of the way and made a small noise of delight when Katya’s nose rubbed against her nape.

“What did you do without me?” Trixie inquired, all her words blending into one as she mushed her face into the pillow, inhaling deep and smelling Katya all around her.

“Got a takeaway, read, watched the clock and counted down the seconds until your return, the usual, y’know.” Katya playfully bit at her and Trixie squealed, reaching behind herself to try and slap her arm but missing each time. Katya caught her hand and squeezed it once, twice, before placing it on the pillow in front of Trixie’s face. The cotton of Katya’s crop top rubbed against Trixie’s bare back as she shifted and Trixie let out a sigh.

“I am the only redeeming factor in your life.” Trixie joked and laughed when Katya jiggled her, her arm over the covers, over where her chest was. 

“You’re awful. I don’t know why I keep you around.”

“Well, I keep you fed, I keep you young, do you want me to go on?” 

Katya jolted, exclaiming, “No, you bitch!”

When they had calmed, Trixie yawned, though she was still too wired from all the alcohol to fall asleep. She flipped onto her back then to face Katya but didn’t deem herself optimally comfortable like that either. 

“You want some space?” Katya asked.

Trixie didn’t know how she could have given off that impression. “No!” She protested, too loudly for the quiet of the room, the building, the street. Katya winced and Trixie felt stupid all of a sudden. She burrowed deeper under the duvet but only got so far until Katya caught her.

“You’re gonna suffocate like that.” Katya, as gentle as ever, coaxed her back up then cupped her cheek, her elbow narrowly avoiding bumping against her breast. Trixie’s mouth fell open, a bolt of excitement running through her. God, she thought, she really was in a state. Enough of one, at least, not to bother that Katya might have been able to see her nipples. She’d seen them before, it was old news now, Trixie reasoned with herself.

“Kim and everyone said they hoped you’d come to the RVT with us all next week.” She blurted, for lack of anything better to do.

Katya smiled, slowly so it overshadowed the rest of her facial features one by one, creased the skin near her eyes and brightened her complexion, even in the dark. “It’s your big birthday bash, of course I’m coming, you silly thing.”

Trixie frowned. “But you usually decide on the day?”

“Not when it’s such a special occasion.” Katya must have been able to see her shock, chuckling at her before leaning in and kissing her nose. “You’re an idiot.”

“I know but at least pretend I’m just a cute, ditzy blonde.” She enacted a strop.

“I don’t need to pretend that!” It was Katya’s turn, then, to shout out and Trixie became increasingly giddy from providing her with such silly entertainment. 

They continued in the same vein for a while. Trixie caressed Katya’s face, trying her hardest not to poke her in the eye, and her breath caught in her throat at how at peace Katya seemed, at the possibility that that was the effect she had on her, too. As much as she loved cracking her up, nothing beat softening her, mellowing her out, being the source of her respite. 

Perhaps it was such a reminder to herself of her value that drove her to need something more, or perhaps it was the drink or a myriad other reasons, that enabled Trixie to take Katya’s palm, kiss it then place it above her ardent heart, the flesh of her left breast cushioning and protecting it. Katya closed her eyes, breathed deep, and Trixie waited, though she didn’t quite know what for. 

It began to gnaw at her, when it appeared as if Katya had finished with their barrage of affections that night. Trixie tried not to deflate, instead sinking completely into Katya’s pillow, the image of her smile replaying over and over behind her eyelids. The aches and pains of a long day infiltrated her consciousness as her thoughts widened and she resented having to wake up so early the following morning. She didn’t need to worry about oversleeping as Katya had no doubt set an alarm and would most likely be awake before it. 

It slowly registered, too, how laboured Katya’s breaths seemed, much more ragged and desperate than when she usually drifted off. Hearing her incited something similar within herself, an indefinable kind of anticipation fluttering in her stomach, making her feel like she was suspended over a cliff’s edge. It was confusing, her addled mind too static to piece together any sort of coherent thinking. She kept her grasp on Katya’s hand tight, nonetheless, relished in the coziness of their proximity and how she could feel where Katya was getting a bit sweaty. 

She didn’t know quite when she fell asleep, but it seemed like a missed opportunity for her to have done so. 

-

Trixie turned down drinks after work with Raja and Raven, eager to get back to see Katya and check on the whole roof situation as she had received a message from Michelle that afternoon, telling her the workmen had experienced some complications - something to do with rotting in the infrastructure and the neighbouring building to which Trixie’s room was adjoined. Her hangover had thankfully subsided by ten, aided by Katya’s iced coffee (saviour) plus another from her favourite cafe diagonally across the road from her office. Whatever had or had not transpired between them dissipated like morning mist and they texted back and forth during their lunch breaks as normal.

It being Friday not only meant Katya providing their dinner but also that she arrived home earlier as the practice she worked at operated special hours that day. When Trixie got in, she could catch Katya’s weird music blaring from her speakers and the unmistakable sound of her “lip syncing” along, which translated to her very quietly singing the lyrics utterly out of tune and thinking she couldn’t be heard. 

Trixie dumped her things and changed into shorts before checking her room and wandering into the lounge where Katya was jumping around, kicking her legs up high and flashing her underwear in the process. 

“Oh wow, you _are_ such a woman of grace and dignity.” 

Katya yelped, coming to a stop with a clap of her hands, then bounded over to Trixie to greet her. She pulled at her so they were in the middle of the floor space and encouraged her to dance too. Trixie rolled her eyes but, of course, gave in and was soon waving her arms about in a feeble attempt to match Katya’s twisted energy. 

Trixie picked what she wanted for dinner and Katya ordered it on Just Eat. Trixie cracked open a bottle of white wine that had been neglected in the fridge for well over a week and they kept dancing and dancing and dancing until their buzzer sounded. Out of breath, they settled down at the table and eagerly opened all their containers of Mexican food, though Trixie always liked to comment how it was British Mexican food, lacking appropriate seasoning. “Ugh, white people.” Katya remarked and Trixie laughed around a mouthful of her burrito bowl. 

Trixie asked Katya about her patients and Katya relayed how one of them had been having nightmares again, triggered by something he found ‘inconsequential’ but Katya had explained how nothing was inconsequential when the mind was under constant duress. Trixie listened to her detail the proper psychological theory and appreciated how, even though she went off on many, many tangents, she ensured Trixie understood without patronising her. 

Trixie finished her second glass and offered to tidy up, barking out a laugh when Katya acceded, propping her feet up and mimicking smoking a cigarette like a lady of leisure. It didn’t take long. “Remind me to take the recycling out tomorrow.” Trixie said, knowing full well that Katya would forget two minutes later. Katya told her she would, nevertheless. What Trixie might have considered a character flaw in someone else, she saw as innate in Katya and the fall out of how her mind worked (overworked, oftentimes).

They reclined on the sofa, Katya on the right side with her feet in Trixie’s lap and Trixie mirroring her position. She sipped from her glass as they chatted. Katya’s weird music still played in the background but it was thankfully turned down to a much more palatable volume. 

“I’ve been having some of the best sleeps since I can remember, this week.” Katya mentioned, when they were discussing how surprisingly easy it had been to combine their bedrooms for the time being. 

“Yeah?” Trixie urged her to elaborate, to put to rest the strange occurrence between them the night before. 

“Honestly! I’ve never been good at sharing a bed but, I dunno, I’ve not caused you any grievous bodily harm in the night so I consider that a win all round.”

“You have surprised me, I must admit. There’s been very little flailing. I’m quite disappointed really, I’d already come up with my excuses if I ended up with bruises on my arms.” 

Katya threw her head back and laughed. “That makes you sound like a victim of abuse.”

“Finally, my shitty childhood prepared me for something!” She howled, the two of them bursting into fits of hysterics, thrashing about so Trixie spilled some wine down her own arm. She downed the rest of it and put her glass on the floor for safety’s sake, playfully whacking Katya’s shins as she kicked her legs like a bug on its back.

They ended up dancing again, pushing their coffee table into their sofa to create even more room. Trixie commandeered the music and Katya brought her the rest of her bottle. 

“Prepare me for your party next week.” Katya grinned. Katya could dance - Trixie had seen it once or twice and it had left her positively gagging - but she mostly chose not to in favour of entertaining everyone in her immediate vicinity with slapstick dramatics and accompanying obscure noises. 

“Yeah, come on, dance with me properly for once. It’s almost my birthday, you can give me that, right?” Trixie demanded, sticking out her bottom lip, the effects of the alcohol starting to make her light headed and impish and even more good humouredly brattish than usual. 

Katya made a show of weighing up her options but eventually rolled her eyes and agreed. Trixie put on Living On The Ceiling by Blancmange. She had heard it the last time she went to the club and had thought Katya, if she didn’t know it already, would love it. 

The drums started alongside a singular guitar, the hypnotic bass coming in soon after and setting the rhythm. “Oh! _Oh_!” Katya exclaimed, eyes widening especially when the first round of Indian inspired instrumentation began too. “I like this!” 

Trixie, already shaking her hips and stepping back and forth in time with the beat, beamed. “Well get groovin’ to it, then! Or are you too old now?” 

“Shut up! I’ll show you.” 

And, fuck, did she. 

Katya raised her arms above her head and undulated her hips in perfect synchronicity to the music, swishing her hair behind her from side to side. She closed her eyes and Trixie allowed herself to take her in. When the Indian inspired section repeated, Katya brought her arm straight out in front of her and rotated her wrist, spindly fingers graceful and somehow alluring. She thrust her hips forward more vigorously and began to mirror her lower body’s movements with her shoulders, placing her hands at her waist to accentuate its narrowness and how supple she was.

Trixie was barely stepping from side to side, too preoccupied by Katya edging closer to her. When their eyes met, Trixie’s mouth went dry. She refilled her wine glass right to the rim and gulped down her drink until there was barely a drop left. It rushed through her like an unparalleled self assurance. She swayed, floating her arms up so they appeared light as a feather. Trixie danced more with her arms than any other part of her, whereas Katya danced with her entire body. 

They were about a metre apart when Katya whipped her hair around her face, strands of it catching on her nose and in her mouth. She bit down on a piece and Trixie stifled a whimper. It wasn’t fair for her to be so sexy without really trying. Trixie had to curate her actions to appeal. Katya just felt the rhythm and let it overtake her, running her hands all down her front, to her thighs and back up again, lifting the hem of her short t-shirt dress in the process so Trixie caught sight of her plain black briefs.

“How am I doing?” Katya asked with a smirk, feigning innocence.

“Fuck off.” Trixie retorted, taking a deep breath and grabbing her hands, pulling Katya until their stomachs bumped. 

“Oof.” She affected, still looking smug as anything. Fucker. 

Katya, being the shorter of the two of them, held onto the swell of Trixie’s hips, giving them a couple of squeezes. Trixie, in turn, lay her arms upon Katya’s shoulders, straight so they bounced up and down when Katya did, and tried to match her pace, her natural sensuality. The music called for it and she wanted to deliver. She dipped whilst swinging her hips so her face was directly in front of Katya’s, then rose when the chorus came around again. She didn’t show how satisfied she was when Katya tried to chase her with the tilt of her chin.

Katya reached behind her and grapsed Trixie’s wrists, stroking along her arms, up and down as she fully gyrated against her. Now they were pressed up to one another, Trixie didn’t dare look anywhere else. The game they were playing, the cat and mouse chase of one upmanship, was too enticing to give up. That fire they possessed began as mere sparks all those months previously, when they first conversed over Facebook, but it served to show Trixie her initial instincts had been right - there was never a dull moment between them. 

During the final verse, Katya twirled and twirled Trixie until she was amazed she didn’t lose her balance - the room spinning faster than she thought she could recover from - only for Katya to deftly catch her and keep her up. They both laughed but Trixie felt weak in her chest, her limbs slack.

The song ended and the room was drenched in silence, their panting amplified in the feeble, minute space between them. Trixie regained the strength in her legs enough to stand properly again but she didn’t step back, didn’t shake off Katya’s hold on her. Katya stared at her, her eyebrows upturned like she was asking a question Trixie couldn’t find the answer to, not right then when she could barely breathe. Katya cupped her cheek, wiped away a bead of sweat near her hairline with her thumb. 

Trixie trailed her gaze from where Katya’s hair was mussed up, to her creased forehead, down the alluring slope of her nose to her rounded cupid’s bow and her plump, chapped lips. There was a spot of red she had missed when taking off her makeup. She flicked up to study Katya’s eyes, only to find them honing in on her mouth, too.

Katya brushed her nose against Trixie’s, like she did when they were huddled together in bed, and Trixie answered her, grazing her lips against Katya’s, only briefly, only lightly, but enough for her to put herself ahead in their game of wills.

Before Trixie could prepare herself, Katya kissed her, still stroking her cheek, still clutching onto her, still searing her with her omnipresent light and warmth. Trixie melted into it, sweltering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Living On The Ceiling is an excellent 80s tune so you should all listen to it and dance too. I never thought I'd be the type of person to miss nights out but, over the past couple of years, I've found places and events which bring me so much joy, so now I can't wait to be back there again with my fellow gays. (Safety first, of course!)


	5. Chapter 5

Getting into bed that night was different, charged. They had broken apart and Katya had led her by the hand to the bathroom to go through their ablutions and Trixie had brushed her teeth, resenting how the mint of her toothpaste eradicated the taste of Katya’s kiss. She couldn’t quite grasp that it had happened, so she felt like she needed some evidence to reassure her she hadn’t gone crazy. 

They didn’t speak much. Katya took off her dress and her bra, pulling on a tank top but leaving her legs bare. Trixie unhooked her bra and pulled it through her t-shirt. She rubbed at the underside of her breast where the wiring had been digging in and pulled back the covers, clambering in to her side. She tracked Katya as she went back and forth, and smiled, despite her inner confusion, when she knocked one of her trinkets off a shelf and dramatised a sincere apology to “Greta”. 

“How dare you.” Trixie intoned. “She’ll never forgive you.”

Katya ran her hand through her hair, not at all smoothing it down. “It’s her husband, Timothy, I’m worried about.” She said, gesturing to the other ugly figure leaning against one of her massive hardbacks. 

Katya turned the light off. She hadn’t lit any candles or incense. When she joined Trixie, Trixie rolled onto her side to face her, to anticipate her next course of action. They lay with their thighs aligned, the pouch of Trixie’s stomach nudging at Katya’s hips, and Katya’s short, sharp breaths exhaled against Trixie’s open mouth. 

“Goodnight, Trixie.” Katya murmured. 

“Goodnight.” She echoed as Katya closed her eyes.

Trixie frowned. She steeled herself and leant in again, pressing her lips to Katya’s. At first, Katya didn’t react, and she worried that she had overstepped, that what they had done together in the lounge would be too much in the bedroom, the boundaries even less clear between them there. Then, Katya surged forwards and kissed her back. It was short and precise and impactful and left Trixie chasing her mouth, teasing her tongue along her bottom lip but not going further until Katya took control. Katya positioned her just right, her index finger curled at Trixie’s chin, and Trixie shuddered when she properly licked into her mouth. Their tongues slid together and Trixie grasped at the duvet where it lay over Katya’s ribs. She felt the expansion of Katya’s lungs against where they were contained in her chest, like what was buried within her was trying to escape.

Katya kissed her with abandon, rolling into Trixie, sweeping her hands over whatever parts of her she could, her tongue often slipping beyond the pink of Trixie’s lips so Trixie was left with damp patches on her chin and cheeks, which she could feel even when they broke apart, heady little reminders of her affection.

They parted for breath. Trixie kept her eyes closed, savouring the sensations making her tingle all over. It had been so long since she had been kissed like that, touched so carefully. That it was Katya who had just short of ravished her was even more remarkable. 

“Turn over.” Katya whispered, her voice cracking. Trixie did as she asked and Katya surrounded her, spooning her and pressing gentle kisses down her neck to the juncture of her shoulder. Trixie smiled to herself, her heart rate finally slowing, and sighed blissfully, especially when Katya nosed at the spot behind her ear. It tickled but not overwhelmingly so. She purposefully matched the length of her inhalations and exhalations with Katya’s and placed her hand over where Katya’s rested beside her.

Trixie fell asleep with the consistent thud of Katya’s heartbeat tapping against her back, as if it was trying to be let in. 

-

The weekend passed and not a word was said by either of them about their kisses. Trixie would have brought it up were she not terrified of it all going tits up somehow and thus having to sleep on the sofa whilst they muddled through the awkwardness; nor did she fancy trying to assign meaning when there might have been none. They went about their days together like usual, Katya dragging her to the Tate for an exhibition and then meeting up with her friend Violet whilst she was visiting on a modelling job, and at night they snuggled up in bed and spooned and slept without interruption.

Trixie’s birthday was coincidentally on a Friday. She went out with her colleagues to Sushi Samba on Thursday night but didn’t allow herself more than four cocktails. By the time she got home, the tube ride had sobered her completely, especially when an accordion player decided to start performing for money right in front of where she had chosen to stand. She was cursed, she swore and huffed. 

If she was being honest with herself, she was disappointed it hadn’t happened again. She didn’t want Katya to think she was using her for a bit of intimacy when she was drunk. Part of her, as well, didn’t want Katya to stop when she kissed her forehead or her shoulder to say goodnight. It didn’t seem like such a big leap to make from what they were already doing. It felt right, to stroke her hair and be held by her as they made out. Trixie was already excited for whatever Katya had organised for the both of them on her birthday. When she began to daydream at the office about Katya giving her a kiss after opening her presents, she realised both that she was utterly done for and that she couldn’t continue such a line of thinking. It wasn’t fair to place such expectations on Katya. They were friends and flatmates and she couldn’t bear to ruin the sanctuary she had found within her. 

Walking from the tube station, she panicked that she was really about to fuck up the best thing to have happened to her since she had lost her grandparents. She gave herself a few more minutes to reassure herself that she was overthinking and that everything would be fine, that no matter what Katya had always shown her impenetrable understanding and patience, and so she dipped into the greengrocers and bought Katya some turkish delights and a strawberry Mirinda, plus one for herself and a chocolate bar. Sugar solved everything, especially emotional quandaries. 

When she arrived home, Katya was pacing up and down the hallway, muttering under her breath. That wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary, Trixie reminded herself and stopped Katya in her tracks to give her her food as a greeting.

“Thank you.” Katya smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. Trixie’s stomach plummeted.

“What’s wrong?”

Katya worried at a hangnail on her thumb and clutched the container of sweets, her entire arm somehow wrapping around it, tight enough for the plastic to squash. “Laura, you remember me telling you about Laura?” Katya didn’t pause long enough for Trixie to actually respond. “Something didn’t seem quite right last session but I couldn’t put my finger on it and I didn’t overanalyse, like, I came home and we had a nice night together when you got back, whatever, and this morning she didn’t turn up for her appointment so I rang her number and got nothing but before I left, our admin got notified that she had been admitted to hospital because she tried to overdose and I’m just so fucking _stupid_ for not joining the dots and seeing this coming and I could have pre-empted this and maybe I couldn’t have _prevented_ it but I just can’t stop—”

Trixie cut her off. She dropped her things on the floor, took away Katya’s fucking turkish delights and wrapped her arms tightly around her shoulders, hugging her as close as she physically could. “Shh.” She soothed, rubbing Katya’s back. She was shaking and seemed so small in that moment. “Slow down, take deep breaths.” Trixie reminded her, giving her the sensation of her fingers trailing across her skin to focus on. She dug in a little harder and Katya exhaled sharply.

“I feel so guilty.” Katya whispered.

“It’s not your fault.” Trixie said, quiet too as if speaking in anything other than hushed tones would scare Katya away. “If you couldn’t put your finger on it, you obviously didn’t have a solid idea of what she would do and therefore you couldn’t have predicted it. She’s in hospital so she’s safe and being taken care of and she’s alive. You did your job, Katya, like you always do. You help people to help themselves but you’re not a mindreader. You can’t control people’s actions and you wouldn’t want to anyway. It’s going to be alright.”

Katya nodded so her cheek rubbed against Trixie’s. Trixie led her to the sofa, sat her down and brought her her snacks. She perched beside her, opened the box and held a sweet out for Katya to take. She didn’t intend it such a way but Katya nonetheless just ate the turkish delight straight from her fingers. Trixie huffed a laugh and Katya smiled.

Trixie got changed and opened her can, gulping down the sweet strawberry flavour. When she got back to the living room, Katya had eaten a few more sweets and was sipping her drink too, wiping a lonely tear from her cheek. “What can I do?” Trixie asked, sitting down and leaving absolutely no space between them.

“Just be you.” 

They chatted aimlessly until Katya stood up and decided it was time for bed for the both of them. When they got under the covers, Trixie swallowed around the taste of her toothpaste and tried not to recall her doing the very same thing after kissing Katya. It replayed in her mind, however much she was concerned it wasn’t wise, and it was probably the messy dyke in her that rather enjoyed her own private torment. 

Katya lay on her back. Trixie told her to turn around and held her, small and strong, smelling her hair and flowering her palm open across the expanse of Katya’s chest. “It’s going to be alright.” She repeated, for her own benefit as well as Katya’s.

“Yeah.” She sighed. “Sorry for bumming you out before your birthday.”

Trixie tightened her hold. “Not at all. I’m a big girl, I can handle it.”

“I know.”

The air around them grew thicker, less temperate. Trixie wanted to kick the sheets off of her body, remain stuck to Katya’s nevertheless and truly take her mind off the day’s problems. Trixie hadn’t even checked on her room, only just remembering it at all. Katya hadn’t mentioned anything and she probably would have if there were any drastic improvements. So she focussed on stroking Katya’s hair instead, on squeezing her in intermissions and basking in her natural scent, detecting the exact placement of the remnants of the perfume she had put on that morning.

“I can’t wait to see what you’ve done for me.” Trixie said close to Katya’s ear. Katya shivered and Trixie nosed at her lobe.

“It’s nothing groundbreaking, don’t get your hopes up.” Trixie raised herself to lean on her elbow so she could peer over Katya’s shoulder properly and see her face. Katya glanced up at her. “What?” She asked.

“You’re an idiot.” Trixie stated with a raise of her eyebrows and the pretense of being stern. “Whatever you’ve got planned, I’ll love it because it’s you. Even if we did nothing but eat junk food and watch Netflix, I would have the best time because you would be with me.”

“Gay.” Katya chirped, grinning cheekily and shifting onto her back to meet Trixie’s gaze with her own. The glint in her eyes had returned. Katya slowly lifted her hand, first placing it on the side of Trixie’s neck to stroke her thumb over her pulse point, then trailing her fingers down over her collar bone, stopping over Trixie’s heart where she flattened her palm, mere millimetres from touching Trixie’s nipple over the thin cotton of her t-shirt. 

They stared at each other, waiting for whoever would give in first. Trixie could glean the same anticipations heightening in Katya from all the many signs she had come to know and adore and hang on, at her beck and call. Katya rubbed her hand upwards and tilted her head as if to check Trixie would allow her to bring it further down. She bit her lip, nodded so minutely she wasn’t sure if Katya could even pick up on her giving her permission. But then Katya cupped her breast, her hand full, and Trixie’s lips parted like her deepest desires were emerging into the stretch between them alongside her quivering exhalation.

She braced herself over Katya, her forearms each side of Katya’s pillow, dipped her head and kissed her. It wasn’t comfortable. The position stretched the muscles at the back of her neck but she couldn’t care less. Katya licked into her mouth and slid her tongue against hers and sucked on her bottom lip, tugging it between her teeth before letting go and starting all over again, and the caresses over her breasts never stopped either. Soon, Trixie relented and sprawled over her, not sinking her weight into her fully, but trapping Katya’s hand beneath her, enough for Katya to grumble that Trixie was depriving her. She placed her spread knees beside Katya’s hips and Katya took full advantage, teasing and touching Trixie just under the hem of her t-shirt. 

“Can I?” Katya checked and the doubt that tainted her features pained Trixie.

“Please.” She begged into their next kiss, moaning when Katya brushed over her nipples, unobstructed. She felt them harden immediately. In turn, Trixie tugged on the strap of Katya’s vest, unsuccessfully trying to get it to fall down her shoulder. Katya kissed across Trixie’s cheek to underneath her jaw, her tongue laving over her skin and eliciting a powerful shudder from deep within her. “ _Fuck_.”

Swiftly, Katya flipped them. Trixie landed on her back in surprise, the wind knocked out of her from the unexpectedness of Katya’s force. She liked it; she wanted more of it. Katya detangled herself from their sheets, shoving them off the edge of the mattress, and arranged Trixie so she could lie on top of her. Trixie bent her right leg and ignored the press of her pelvis into Katya’s in order to slide her foot along Katya’s calf as they kissed. 

Katya licked up the columns of Trixie’s neck, swirling her tongue around her ear, then dipping into it. Trixie gasped and moaned when it seemed like Katya would never relent, never progress. “More, please, please, please.” She didn’t care how desperate she sounded. She was. She needed Katya’s touch and her kisses and her tongue all over her.

“Take your top off.” She ordered. Trixie scrambled up and pulled her t-shirt over her head, throwing it aside. The room was warm from their fervour, their body heat combined, but Trixie got chills, nonetheless, when Katya’s eyes roamed over her breasts. Katya sat, too, gripping on to Trixie’s back. Trixie properly mounted her so she was in Katya’s lap and tipped her head back when Katya took her nipple into her mouth, sucking harshly, hungrily. 

She pressed her face into Katya’s hair and closed her eyes and when Katya’s hand slid around her ribcage, traced her spine and edged towards the waistband of her underwear, she moaned from the mere idea of Katya’s fingers massaging her ass cheeks or roaming further down. 

“Feels so good.” She encouraged her, ever the more talkative of the two of them. 

“You’re so sexy, Trix, I can’t believe you’re letting me—”

Trixie shushed her tenderly. She took her face in her hands and kissed her quiet, a filthy, wet kiss that left them both clamouring for each other. Trixie became increasingly aware of her arousal simmering beneath the surface, how her body reacted so emphatically to every single thing Katya did. It took all her restraint not to roll her hips and gain some kind of friction against her. She kissed Katya once more, reaching for the hem of her vest and pulling upwards until the material got in their way. Once Katya had pushed it aside, Trixie took her in, ghosted her fingers over her visible ribs and protruding collar bones and blew over her nipples, watching goosebumps rise around her areolas. 

They kissed and kissed and kissed until Trixie’s lips were red raw and her wetness began to seep out onto her underwear. She feared Katya would be able to feel it on her thighs but a part of her got an added thrill from the possibility, too. “ _Fuck_.” She moaned as Katya licked at her ear again. “I’m...I’m so wet.” She heard herself say.

“I know.” Katya smirked, rubbing up and down her arms. “What do you want to do about it?”

Trixie was fully aware that she was at a crossroads, one which would deeply impact their friendship, their lives together at home. On the one hand, she could have put a stop to what they were doing, could have done the reasonable thing and calmed the fuck down before they behaved so rashly. On the other, there was Katya, the most perfect, beautiful, hilarious, intelligent person she had ever met who had cuddled her to sleep every night that week and whose kisses drove her wild and... _god_ , she couldn’t resist her. “Fuck me. I want you to fuck me.”

Katya stared at her for five, six, seven (Trixie counted to temper herself) seconds. “I want to fuck you, too.” She admitted like it was simple, untangled.

“That works out well for me, then.” Trixie managed to quip, one side of her mouth upturning in the way that emphasised her deepening smile lines. Katya huffed a laugh and pressed her forehead to Trixie’s. “I’ve just realised that sounds like I’m just expecting you to fuck me but you’re not getting some in return. That’s not— I mean, no I want...Fuck, you know what I’m saying, right?”

Katya barked out a laugh, grasping Trixie’s forearm and shaking it about. “Oh my god, I know.” Her smirk returned. “I know you want this pussy.”

They burst into giggles again and Trixie beamed. “God help me, I do.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided I'm going to post the final chapter a month after I put the first one up so...here's Chapter 6! Thank you so much for all the love on this story. I very much hope you enjoy how it turns out!

Trixie thought of herself as an excellent fuck. Though she was much more of a spoilt bottom than anything else, she knew exactly how to satisfy her partners and wasn’t afraid to try new things. She’d had a few threesomes in the past and explored some kinks she probably wouldn’t dabble in again, and now, coming fully into her mid twenties, she was experienced enough to know what worked, what didn’t and what pleasured her best.

Being with Katya, however, threw everything out the window, turned her perceptions completely upside down. Maybe it was because of how deep their emotional connection was that it felt so different, or maybe it was because Katya tapped into her own psychological understanding and awareness that added a whole other layer of euphoria, like Katya was burrowing into Trixie’s mind as well as her body when she fucked her. Trixie had experienced nothing like it and the thought that she never would again fixed her in place, under Katya’s watchful gaze and sweaty, beautiful body.

They had both stripped off completely at the same time, revealing themselves in sync, the balance between them as comforting and wholesome as ever. They had laughed and cracked jokes and Katya had self deprecatingly made comments about her physique, how it ‘wasn’t bad for such an old lady’. Trixie had kissed her and told her that their difference in age wasn’t even that big, that she shouldn’t think of herself that way when she was with Trixie because it was inconsequential. Katya had pulled back, shocked by Trixie’s sincerity, but had nodded and kissed her and pulled on her hair to tilt her head back so she could bite at Trixie’s throat, just erring on the side of painful. 

On their sides, face to face, in the same position as they had been every night since Trixie’s roof caved in, they reached out, gliding their hands down each other’s trembling stomachs in exhilarating harmony. Trixie jolted at the first touch of Katya’s fingers, dipping into her wetness and dragging it upwards, torturously slowly, stopping at her clit and beginning a leisurely, focussed massage. The tension in her upper thighs expanded and she was left inept, unable to do more than place her hand over Katya’s mound and relish in her bucking into her. 

Her mouth fell open when Katya rubbed lower, not giving her the stimulation she desired but taunting her with the expectation of it. Katya kissed her, their noses squashing together from their joint vigour, and Trixie got it together enough to mirror Katya’s actions upon her, perhaps not as perfectly, but her intentions spoke volumes. 

Trixie watched Katya watching her, the flutter of her eyelashes as Trixie teased over her clit, the way she bit her own lip before biting Trixie’s - it all amounted to pure perfection. 

Trixie began to buck her hips to meet Katya’s strokes, her eager breaths mingling with Katya’s. For all she wanted to close her eyes, lean back and let her pleasure dominate her, she couldn’t - Katya had that silent control over her, never allowing her to break their eye contact, talking her through it without saying a word. 

“Can you— _oh_.” Trixie tried to request but, at the same time, Katya started to quicken her pace over her clit, her circular motions consistent enough to really start to heighten Trixie’s experience yet never push her to completion. Trixie’s forehead creased and her wrist ached from the angle, from the way she tried her hardest to take care of Katya. She couldn’t concentrate on much beyond how Katya was still looking at her so intensely, how she changed the direction her fingers took after slicking them once more with Trixie’s wetness, how the slide against her made Trixie strain closer. She needed more. “Get inside me.” She said into a rough kiss.

Katya tipped her onto her back. Trixie’s hand fell away from between Katya’s legs as Katya sat atop her thighs. She bent over and gave her one more kiss to placate her, then moved down her body. “Keep watching me.” She told her and Trixie nodded, mute and dumbfounded. Trixie bent her knees and planted her feet on the mattress and Katya brought her hands to the small of Trixie’s back to tilt her pelvis forwards so she had even better access. Katya tongued her upper lip, taunting, then lowered her head, licking a slow stripe up to Trixie’s clit. She lapped at her, her head bobbing up and down, as she smoothed her hand up Trixie’s leg to grip at her hip tightly before she stroked her fingers beside her fervent tongue, then below. 

When Katya entered her, Trixie flung her head back, her eyes closing of their own accord. Katya’s words echoed in her head but the pounding of her heartbeat drowned every other sound out. 

“Hey, what did I say!” Katya playfully berated her, pinching her thick thigh. Trixie whined but propped herself up on her elbows just in time to see Katya return her attention to her throbbing cunt. Her wetness was seeping down between her ass cheeks and no doubt onto the sheets, and when Katya began to crook her fingers against her walls and deepen her penetration, she called out, the muscles in her stomach tightening.

“I’m close.” She warned, which only spurred Katya on, her tongue caressing her faster and faster. Katya retracted her fingers almost fully, pushing them back in, hard, filling Trixie up to the knuckles. “Fuck, _Katya_.” She moaned, over and over, until her toes curled and her thighs shook and she came with an almighty shriek. 

She flopped back and stared in wonder at the ceiling, welcoming the aftershocks running through her as Katya pulled out. She clenched around nothing, already missing Katya’s contact. Katya kissed up her body, licked into her mouth so Trixie could taste herself on her tongue and stroked over her sensitive nipples, evoking another twitch. It took a few seconds for Trixie to be able to kiss Katya back with as much energy but the excitement of getting to make Katya come, too, revitalised her.

She parted Katya’s labia and rubbed her fingers up and down, the exact same way Katya had done to her before, guiding her into another kiss with her hand on her cheek. With Katya above her, she could apply more pressure and Katya moaned into her mouth every time she stroked over her clit. Her wetness dripped down her fingers and Trixie felt herself stir - so soon - from the knowledge that she had aroused Katya that much. 

Katya started to thrust her hips in time with Trixie’s ministrations, clutching at Trixie’s shoulders so her short nails dug in. Katya sucked on her bottom lip and squealed as Trixie changed her motions, wiggling her fingers side to side over Katya’s clit, so quickly that her wrist and her entire hand burned from exertion.

Katya’s climax was long and loud and powerful, and Trixie kissed her throughout it all, running her fingers through her hair as she came down, collapsing onto her chest. Trixie wrapped her arms around her body and held her tightly, placing a series of gentle kisses wherever she could reach, smiling when Katya hummed contentedly at each of them.

“You’re so hot when you come.” Trixie murmured. 

“So are you.” She heard, Katya’s voice muffled beneath Trixie’s hair and caught against her damp, flushed skin. “You’re so hot all of the fucking time, you whore.”

Trixie sniggered, reaching down to lightly slap Katya’s ass. “Takes one hottie to know one.”

They cleaned themselves up, eventually, and put the duvet back on the bed, Trixie straightening it out before they got underneath. She eased herself into Katya’s familiar embrace, grinning from ear to ear. 

“I think it’s past midnight.” Katya said, close to her ear. Trixie felt her smile against her skin.

“Happy birthday to me, then.” Trixie softly scratched up and down Katya’s forearm.

“I hope it is.” 

“Of course. Please don’t doubt that.” 

“So if I woke you up half an hour early tomorrow to eat you out before you went to work, you’d be alright with that?”

Trixie’s laugh burst out of her, filled the darkness of their room with her joy. Her adoration. “I’d be more than alright with that, believe me.”

-

Trixie was never late to work. Ever. But that Friday, she tripped through her office doors, sweat pouring down her back from running from the station, twenty minutes after she should have been there and apologising profusely to Raja and Raven and the rest of the team, who merely looked on in amusement. She garbled out some excuse about her alarm not going off but could barely suppress her smile because of the real reason. Sinking into her chair and thanking everyone for their understanding, she had to cross her legs and squeeze them together to suppress the little jerk of arousal threatening to make her ten o’clock meeting very uncomfortable indeed. 

Her colleagues presented her with a birthday cake and sang to her during lunch and the team sneakily had a glass of prosecco each in the afternoon once things were winding down for the weekend. She left at five on the dot with a gift bag of lovely presents and a balloon that she promised she would take all the way home with her put popped and stuffed in a bin as soon as she was safely away from the vicinity of the building. She took the bus home and texted Katya that she was on her way. The butterflies in her stomach intensified with each stop that passed. 

She didn’t have a clue what Katya had gotten her, save for the sleep spray if she had been serious about it, and she was thrumming with excitement over what their night would involve. She really rather hoped a lot of sex. And kissing. And cuddling. And even more sex. A couple of glorious, intoxicating fucks wasn’t enough for her and, though she didn’t want to assume, she felt as if it wasn’t enough for Katya either. 

The sun was shining and the air was balmy. Stepping off the bus, Trixie shouldered her handbag and walked the short distance to the front door, heading up to her flat. Katya hadn’t replied to her text but Trixie put it down to her sorting herself out before her arrival. She barged through their entryway, calling out her greeting, and frowned when there was no reply. Speeding down the hallway, her pulse raced with anticipation. She got to the lounge and found Katya standing on the coffee table (fucking weirdo), holding out a giant bunch of flowers and smiling at her, that wide, pearly smile which showed off all her flawless teeth and brought her so much happiness.

“Happy birthday, Trixie Mattel.” Katya announced, waving her over to take the flowers. Once she did, she sniffed them, their sweet scent both potent and transcendent.

“These are beautiful. Thank you.” She sniffed again, looking over the arrangement of blushing carnations, dusty pink Alstroemeria and white Gypsophila, all wrapped up in brown paper and tied together with twine. 

Katya jumped down with a thud and there was a moment where neither of them quite knew what to do with themselves. But Trixie, emboldened by her day of sexual frustration and counting down the hours until she saw Katya again, stepped right up to her and kissed her. It was brief but meaningful nevertheless and Katya gasped into it, clutching at her like she was alleviated of her day’s worries. 

Trixie set the flowers aside for the time being and dumped her things on the sofa so she could properly encircle Katya and kiss her with all her might. Katya ran her hands down from where they cupped her cheeks to her neck, her breasts, her waist, her hips and ass. There, Katya squeezed and Trixie moaned, her lips parting so Katya could slide her tongue in deeper. Trixie only pulled away when she became light headed. “Wow.” She crooned. “You sure know how to treat a lady.”

Katya tucked her chin into her chest and huffed a laugh, seemingly shy all of a sudden. “Want your other presents?” She asked.

“Of course.”

Katya led her to Trixie’s bedroom. She was about to vocalise her confusion when Katya opened the door, presenting it all finished. “Ta-dah.” She said with her arms out wide. It should have been a relief and cause for celebration, to see the roof fixed and all her furniture put back in place, no equipment or muddy boot prints in sight. But it wasn’t. It seemed like the end. She would have been hurt way more by the guise of Katya gifting this to her if she hadn’t caught how lacklustre Katya was, how she didn’t smile at all beyond a sad pressing together of her lips.

“What are my other ones?” She prompted. Katya nodded, took her hand and took her to her room. Trixie rubbed her thumb over Katya’s knuckles. 

On the bed they had shared were some impeccably wrapped parcels and two envelopes. All pink, naturally. “Open this first. I’m...I need to explain.” Katya held out the larger of the envelopes and Trixie eyed her. Katya rubbed at her own arm and couldn’t stay still, the tell tale signs of anxiousness.

“ _Ok_...” Trixie drawled and sat down on top of the duvet, Katya coming next to her, their thighs resting against one another. She opened the envelope and took out a printed piece of paper from their estate agent’s website. On it showed a one bedroom flat for sale, just up the road from where they already were. It was ridiculously expensive, as all property was in London, but reasonable for their area and rather fucking lovely, all modern fittings and with a balcony to boot. “What—” She began but was promptly interrupted by Katya’s hand grabbing her thigh, so hard she thought she would bruise.

Trixie glanced at her face only to find her with her eyes screwed tightly shut, her eyebrows crushed together and her chest heaving. 

“I am ridiculously in love with you, Trixie. I think I fell for you as soon as we started chatting on fucking Facebook. I have never met anyone who I want to let look after me, who I can share all my worries with without fear of rejection or judgement or confusion, and who makes me so fucking happy all of the fucking time. Before you got here, I never thought about anyone else apart from my patients beyond general niceties and, y’know, shit you have to do to not be a dick to people. I know I’m polite and kind but...when I’m with you, I want to give you the world. I’ve spent these past six months doing everything in my power to make sure you felt safe and loved and like you had a proper home. And now we’ve— after this week or so, I just can’t bear falling asleep every night without you in my arms. Now, I really do want to give you a home. Well, that’s not completely true, I don’t have that much money and you’re your own woman with independence and— _fuck_.” She took a deep breath. “Michelle owns that place and we did the math together and with my salary and your salary combined, we could get a mortgage big enough to cover most of the asking price. I’ve saved enough over the years to afford the deposit. So, what I’m saying is...Will you move in with me, properly, like...girlfriends?”

Katya still had her eyes closed, the tension in her all too evident. Trixie couldn’t stand it. “Katya.” She said, placing her hand on top of hers. “I love you too. I might not have realised until, well, now but...I do.”

Katya lifted her head at that but looked no less pained. “How can you not realise? Have you not spent every second of our time together feeling like your heart is about to fucking combust like I have?” 

“No.” She stated, simply, and pushed herself to continue when her mind was screaming at her in alarm. “Because being with you isn’t painful. I’ve only ever known love that was conditional or that was taken away. That’s the kind that made me feel like I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t be. With you, I can do anything I want, I can laugh like a crazy person and dance and make inappropriate jokes and I know that it’s all ok, because you’re there doing it along with me.”

There was a tear threatening to spill over Katya’s waterline. “But...how do you know now? Now I’ve told you how I feel?”

“Because everything you said, I feel it too. I guess I just didn’t figure out what it was because of...y’know, back in Wisconsin.” She smiled, tried to make fun of the situation. “Come on, textbook abused kid, remember? You should get it!”

Katya huffed a laugh, shaking her head. “I told you I don’t treat you like a client. I’ve never let myself think that way about you, it’s not right.”

“You’re incredible, I hope you believe me when I tell you that, at least.” Trixie welled up too.

Katya smiled, the one Trixie felt proud to get out of her every time she did something funny, or complimented her, or basically existed in her presence. “I guess I can accept that.” 

“Good, because I accept this gift and I accept your love and I accept that you forget to do the chores and that those creepy ass dolls in your room are here to stay and if that doesn’t prove how much I love you, then I don’t know what will.”

“Can I kiss you, my beautiful birthday girl?” Katya requested, eyes wide and innocent.

“Yes, _yes_ , please kiss me. I want you so much.”

Katya, always doing the unexpected, pushed Trixie’s shoulders so she landed on her back and got on top of her, instantly ravishing her mouth, her neck, every inch of her. Trixie moaned and kissed her back with every fibre of her being and Katya fucked her, and _loved her_ , and Trixie had never been so fucking grateful to have found everything she had ever wanted in one person, in one run down flat in London.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just couldn't wait lmao. 
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who has read this story. I hope you enjoy the final chapter too! You can find me on tumblr with the same username. Some of you have been super, super kind over there as well recently and that makes me HAPPY.
> 
> This one's dedicated to alittlebitcloser. She knows why...

After multiple orgasms and post-coital cuddling, Trixie opened the rest of her gifts. Katya had given her the sleep spray, of course, which they laughed at and remarked in wonder at how nice it would make _their_ bed smell; an eighties style neon pink bomber jacket with customised patches and her initials embroidered over the chest, and some makeup she had wanted to try. The card she had given her was glittery and pink and Trixie exclaimed that she had no idea Katya was such a romantic, her cursive handwriting spelling out all the things she loved about her and wishing her the best of birthdays imaginable. 

“I don’t think I am much of a romantic. You’re the one that gets me little treats all the time.” Katya argued. Trixie kissed her cheek and listed all the many ways, upon reflection, that Katya had shown her love. “Ok, _ok_ , I am rather amazing, it seems.” 

“You are.” Trixie insisted.

Katya had planned to take Trixie out to her favourite vegetarian restaurant and then on to the one lesbian bar still standing in London. It got to eight o’clock, however, and after several rounds of sex, feeling sweaty and being so fucking happy with how everything had turned out, Trixie made the call to stay in and enjoy their time together as a new couple. 

Katya looked at her dubiously and checked. “Are you sure?”

“As sure as I am about loving you with my whole fuckin’ heart, you dyke.” Trixie exclaimed, sending Katya into fits of wheezy laughter. Trixie suggested that Katya ran to Sainsbury’s to get them some pizza and ice cream and a bottle of prosecco for her to enjoy, and so that’s how she spent the final hours of her birthday, discussing all the many signs they had given each other, oftentimes without realising, that they cared beyond what friends usually did. 

Once they were finished, their fingers and mouths were greasy from their pizzas and Trixie reddened even further when Katya pointed out that she was flushed, “so beautifully”, from her drink. 

“And from being around you.” Trixie gushed. “Now I can easily say you’re the best I’ve ever had, I only need to look at you and my whole body reacts. Good job this didn’t happen sooner, really, I think I would have ended up getting in to work late every day. At least today I got a pass because it’s my birthday.”

“Raja and Raven love you, I’m sure they’d— _wait_. I’m the best you’ve ever had?”

Trixie bit her lip, raised her eyebrows and nodded. Katya dragged her to the sink to wash their hands then promptly bent her over the kitchen table with the promise that she had seen nothing yet.

That night, they fell asleep together in what Trixie could now let herself call their bed. She had put it down to the fact that they had literally been sharing Katya’s room, for her subconsciously to have started thinking of it as theirs. And reflecting on the past couple of weeks only brought to light the many other ways in which she saw them as a unit, so she began to understand what her friends had been banging on about for months on end.

She didn’t know for sure, why it hadn’t clicked sooner. Maybe it was fear. Fear that if she let herself think that way about Katya, only for it not to be returned in the same manner, it would have sent her spiralling. Being in London, away from her shitty family and the physical reminders of her grief, of the absence of the only two people who had marginally cared about her previously, posed too high a chance of disappointment if she put herself in risky situations. She didn’t dare hazard forfeiting the stability Katya offered her.

Whatever the reason, she was just glad it had all worked out. She practically worshipped the ground Katya walked on. She knew she talked about her all the time, that she smiled whenever she thought of her or something funny she had done, and she was all too aware that her friends had pieced together these little clues to form a picture so much more vast than Trixie could have comprehended alone. Having Katya be brave - so fucking brave - and put herself out there like she had, only endeared her more. Trixie had always respected Katya to the highest degree. She was admirable in countless ways. Knowing how terrified she had been to make such a massive proposition to Trixie really just blew her away. 

The next morning, Katya took Trixie out for a fancy brunch at a vegan place on Westbourne Grove. It was hot outside, too hot for Trixie to wear her new jacket, but Katya kissed her bare shoulders and told her it was fine by her to see her in as few items of clothing as socially acceptable. 

Trixie put on a silky, strappy pink slip dress with no bra so her boobs bounced as they walked hand in hand from Bayswater station, passing the rows of white mansions and West London wisteria. Katya kept telling her how sexy she looked and Trixie, giving Katya the once over, said she wasn’t too bad either. It was the biggest understatement she could have made. Katya looked insanely hot in a pair of black tailored shorts with a red baggy t-shirt tied at her waist, showing off a slither of her toned stomach and her arms where she had rolled up the short sleeves. Katya pranced about merrily. Trixie wanted nothing more than to have her push her up against a wall and have her way with her. 

The restaurant was busy once they got there but they managed to snag a table after a fifteen minute wait. Trixie ordered the breakfast burrito and wanted the waffles afterwards and Katya gleefully watched her, though she also managed to finish her omelette. Trixie drank a few too many mimosas and laughed way too loudly at the gross jokes they were telling each other, but Katya didn’t quieten her, only reached out and held her hand, and Trixie beamed with pride that she was being well and truly spoiled by her woman.

They wandered around Notting Hill, sipping iced coffee and kissing each other whenever the mood took them (which was often), basking in the sunshine. They got home in time for another couple of earth shattering orgasms before they showered (separately, much to Trixie’s disappointment) and got ready, all dressed up to head to The Oxo Tower for dinner with Shea, Kim, Naomi and Trixie’s other friend Tammie, who was more like the crazy, kooky aunt she had never had. 

Trixie styled her hair in big, bouncy curls and put on her favourite, shimmery pink dress with swirling patterns and long sleeves, the one Katya said looked like the inside of a red cabbage when cut up. Trixie had just finished applying her makeup when Katya emmerged. She had decided to change in the bathroom under the pretense that she had bought a new outfit and didn’t know whether she liked it quite yet and therefore didn’t want Trixie to see it if she looked terrible in it. Trixie had joked that she always dressed terribly, earning her a pretty forceful slap on the ass, which hadn’t helped her raging libido one bit. 

Trixie’s jaw practically fell to the floor when she caught sight of Katya, standing in the doorway with her hand on her hip. She had on a ridiculously sexy, crocheted jumpsuit. The top half was solid black with a triangular cut at the chest, a deep v and thin halter neck straps. Around her waist was a black belt, cinching her in to accentuate her slender figure and the bottom was cut to her upper thigh. The see through crochet material, however, went all the way down to her ankles in flares. She finished up the look with a chunky silver choker which had coin detail trailing down her meagre cleavage and high heeled black patent boots. “Holy fucking shit.” Trixie cursed, unable to formulate a proper sentence. 

“I am— what do the kids say? Feeling myself.” Katya smirked, doing a little wiggle dance on the spot and quirking her eyebrows.

“Ok, boomer.” Trixie quipped but got to her feet, dashing over to her and running her hands over the material, cupping Katya’s small breasts. “Fuck, this is incredible. You look so fucking good, I just want you to step on me and snap my neck. Is that too far?”

Katya flapped her hands about and stomped her feet on the ground in hysterics and Trixie squawked at her reaction. “Yes, you freak! Now, come on, you can’t be late to your own dinner.”

They took the Northern Line down to Waterloo and walked up to the bridge, turning right to saunter along the Thames as the sun turned a deep orange. The restaurant was on the eighth floor of the building so they got in the lift and, as they were alone, spent the short journey up taking selfies in the mirror. “We look so hot together.” Trixie said and Katya readily agreed, planting a quick kiss smack on her lips before the doors opened. 

In the waiting area, Kim and Naomi were already there. “Birthday girl!” Naomi exclaimed with open arms, nearly hitting Kim in the face for how long they were. 

Trixie greeted them with hugs and watched on as Katya kissed them both on the cheek, telling them how nice it was to see them and that they looked fabulous - which they did, of course. Shea turned up soon after and so they decided to get to their table for their allotted time, Trixie reassuring everyone that Tammie was in a world of her own so god knows when she would get there. 

The Oxo Tower restaurant was long with large clear glass all around its perimeter, providing patrons with much sought after views of some of the most famous landmarks of the city. The maître d' took them to their table, which almost faced St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Millenium Bridge headon. “I think I definitely made the right choice here.” Trixie proclaimed as she was handed a special vegetarian menu.

The rest of the group agreed and started looking over the options for food and drinks. Katya, sat to her left, leaned over to nosy at Trixie’s menu and commented on how good everything sounded. “Oh wow, coming from you, that’s a true testament.” She jibed playfully. Katya squeezed her bare thigh under the table. It was only then that Trixie remembered they hadn’t discussed telling her friends what had happened between them. She didn’t think Katya wanted to keep it quiet, especially as they would no doubt start the process of buying their flat in the very near future, but she also didn’t want to make Katya uncomfortable by springing it on everyone else without warning her. 

She stuck her tongue out, winked at her then turned back to gaze over the cityscape. There were a few clouds blooming on the edges of the horizon, closing in on the slowly setting sun, which cast a golden glow upon everything in sight. It was beautiful, all of it. Her life now. She swallowed down the lump in her throat and tuned back in to the conversation around her. 

When Tammie filled the empty chair, coming in in a flurry of bright colours and clashing patterns, they ordered drinks - bottles of the cheapest champagne and a non-alcoholic cocktail for Katya. It turned out a lot tastier than the champagne, Trixie judged when she took a sip to try it. Katya proposed a toast and the whole place ended up singing her happy birthday and giving her a round of applause. She pretended to be embarrassed but she loved the attention and Katya instantly saw right through her act, telling her to soak it all up.

The meal was delicious and dessert was even better and though it cost an arm and a leg, it was worth every penny, if only to be around the people she loved in such a stunning setting. 

It had gotten dark by the time they were done. They all went to the toilets and Kim, Trixie and Naomi refreshed their makeup whilst Katya chatted with Shea and Tammie, crowding around the sinks until everyone was finished. Trixie led the way back to Waterloo where they said goodbye to Tammie before getting on the bus to Vauxhall. Trixie stood next to Katya during the ride and managed to lean into her to whisper in her ear. “Am I alright to tell everyone about us?”

“Of course!” Katya exclaimed, loud enough for Kim to ask what was going on.

“Well,” Trixie began after gesturing for the three of them to come closer. “I’m going to say something that I’m very much not happy about.” She grinned when Katya gave her a puzzled look. “You guys were right.” She reached out to hold Katya’s hand, bringing it up to her lips to kiss her knuckles. “I _am_ madly in love with my sexy flatmate and it turns out that, by some miracle, she feels the same way.”

The screeches and cheers erupted instantaneously, earning them all scowls and grumbles from fellow passengers, but Trixie didn’t care. She laughed into Katya’s shoulder and Katya kissed her forehead reaffirming that it was true.

“Oh my god, finally!” Shea practically shouted, even when the others had settled down. “I’m so, so happy for you guys, I can’t even. Oh my god. Can we tell her?” 

Trixie frowned upon seeing Shea direct her question at Katya. “Tell me what?” 

Katya bit her lip and nodded. Kim and Naomi shifted on the spot together like they were all guilty of holding on to a dirty secret but smiled so genuinely that Trixie knew she didn’t have anything to worry about.

“Trixie, we’ve been bugging you about getting with Katya for so long for our own amusement, yes, but because, well, we knew she liked you.” Kim started to explain. 

Before Trixie could interrupt, as she was prone to, Naomi added, “Like, we literally knew. We managed to get it out of her one night out when you’d gone to the bathroom.”

“ _What_?” Trixie shrieked, turning to Katya. “You told these pieces of shit before you told me?” 

Katya cackled and shrugged. “They’re like the fucking Spanish Inquisition! I couldn’t help it!”

“So you see, we weren’t just being immature bitches. We been knew, girl, we been knew.” Shea punctuated her last three words with loud claps of her hands. 

The group of them cracked up laughing and it was as if they didn’t stop until they got off the bus. Trixie’s cheeks ached as Katya pulled her along to join the queue to get into the RVT, looking up at the rainbow flags that hung down the sides of the building, spotlit and proud. Once they’d been checked by security and paid their entrance fee, Naomi and Shea headed straight to the bar whilst Katya led Trixie and Kim nearer to the stage to claim their spot on the dancefloor. 

After the variety performances hosted by London’s night czar finished, they spent the rest of the evening dancing to the best songs of the eighties, crushed against countless other sweaty bodies and being complimented left, right and centre by two leather daddies. Katya was their favourite, apparently, but Trixie, in her drunken haze, couldn’t quite grasp what anyone was saying, so she let the music take over, leaning back into Katya’s body and swaying her hips. Katya ran her hands over the tops of her thighs and kissed her neck and Trixie could feel herself getting wet, the thrill of being surrounded by so many other people, all witnessing her act this way with her _girlfriend_ , turning her on so fucking much. 

Everything got a bit fuzzy after two in the morning. Trixie pushed Katya through the fire door to the picnic benches on the side of the street, which made up the smoking area, under the guise of getting fresh air. But, really, she ended up sitting in her lap and making out with her until she felt like she was going to melt into a puddle on the floor. “You’re so fucking hot, Katya.” She murmured into her mouth, sliding her tongue against Katya’s as she sneakily ran her hand over Trixie’s breast. “That outfit is...fuck. I can’t wait to get home. I’m pretty sure my underwear is ruined.”

Katya eventually persuaded her to go back inside (not without promising to fuck her blind later), where they rejoined her friends and danced the rest of the night away until closing time at four. They got an uber home, the others deciding to do the same, and they spent the half hour journey cuddled up, Trixie only just about resisting the urge to kiss and rut against Katya, the driver’s presence enough of a deterrent, however. 

Holding her upright, Katya opened the door for her, leaving her on the bed to go get some water and painkillers. “ _Baby_ , come back.” She whined. 

“I’ve been gone literally ten seconds.” Katya called from the kitchen, where Trixie heard her rummaging around.

“But I miss you!” 

Trixie grinned when she returned, probably more promptly than she would have were Trixie not kicking up a fuss. Trixie watched her place the glass and tablets by her side of the bed. Then, Katya came to stand in front of her, one eyebrow quirked. 

“What?” Trixie asked.

“Well, do you remember what I promised you earlier?” 

Trixie nodded readily, suddenly wide awake again and stirring. Katya wandered over to her wardrobe and got down onto her hands and knees to reach something at the back. Trixie couldn’t quite see, especially as Katya quickly held whatever it was behind her until she was before her once more. “Show me.” Trixie pleaded.

Katya dangled a black leather harness right by her face. “How’s about that, hmm? Would you like to be fucked real fucking hard in _our_ bed?”

“Like you even have to ask.” Trixie breathed, her chest heaving. She scrambled to stand, swaying a little before flinging her shoes off and undressing faster than she thought she ever had before. She stood like she was ready to be inspected and waited for Katya’s next move. 

Katya smirked and glanced over to where her underwear had landed on the floor. She picked up her briefs and took a good look and remarked how she really had ruined them. “All that from just _dancing_ together? Shit, you must truly be crazy about me.”

“Obviously!” Trixie asserted. “Now _please_ put something in there and get it on and get _inside me_.”

Katya didn’t hesitate from then on. She lay Trixie back on the bed, kissed her all the way down her body, right to her ankles, and stripped too. The temptation to bring her hand down in between her legs drove Trixie wild. She clutched at the bed sheets instead and whimpered when Katya fixed the harness with a long, purple dildo. Katya crawled over her and kissed her open mouth, biting on her bottom lip and tugging on it whilst reaching down and checking just how wet Trixie was. 

At the first tease of contact, Trixie bucked up into her touch. She felt hot all over and tried to get more from Katya, to no avail.

“Wait a second, gorgeous, let me…” Katya said, trailing off as she nudged the tip at Trixie’s entrance. Trixie moaned, pinching her own nipple as she saw and felt and heard Katya push in. 

“Fuck.” She tipped her head back, arching her spine. Katya rocked forwards, her movements slow and torturous to begin with, interspersing her thrusts with kisses to Trixie’s jaw, her clavicle, the space on her chest between where her boobs flopped to the side whenever she was lying flat. Katya licked a stripe up her sternum, quickening her pace slightly, up to Trixie’s lips. “More.” Trixie begged.

Katya built up, steadily, until she really was fulfilling her promise, Trixie’s head hitting the headboard with every snap of her hips. She cried out each time Katya reached a certain spot within her and warned her that it wouldn’t take long for her to come.

“Touch yourself.” Katya instructed. Trixie immediately trailed her hand down her stomach, parted her labia and massaged circles around her clit. “Fuck, you’re so beautiful. So. Beautiful.”

Trixie moaned, louder than she had all night, tensing her thighs and tilting her hips upward slightly so Katya could get even deeper, so she felt an increased pressure against her own fingers. Her orgasm crashed over her and Katya kissed her through it, only pulling out when she had fully stilled, breathing heavily into the air they shared.

With tired limbs, Trixie gestured Katya back over to her once she had taken off the harness, letting it fall to the floor with a thud against the carpet. Katya got into bed, gathering Trixie up in her arms and kissing her shoulder, her neck, the soft skin behind her ear. 

“I think I’ve wiped you out, haven’t I?” Trixie felt her smile against her.

“ _Yes_ , fuck, I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry, we have all the time in the world, now.”

Trixie hummed, closing her eyes and squeezing Katya’s hand, held over her heart. “Mmm, we do. I can’t wait to have a proper home with you.”

Katya kissed her one more time, imprinting her lips upon her skin like a permanent marker. “I think we’ve already got that.”

And Trixie certainly couldn’t disagree. It might have taken a part of their flat falling to pieces for her to realise it, but wherever they were, together, was where she was most at peace, where she had found her haven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a new (chaptered, ofc) fic ready to go! So let me know just how soon you want it and I'll happily oblige :)
> 
> OH also this is the black jumpsuit I mention Katya wearing because I saw this pic and, er, went feral: https://halfofwhatyouare.tumblr.com/post/617660667154104320/trinketmattel-we-should-talk-about-this-katya


End file.
